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HEARINGS 

BEFORE THE 


COMMITTEE ON THE PHILIPPINES 
UNITED STATES SENATE 

AND THE 

COMMITTEE ON INSULAR AFFAIRS 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

HELD JOINTLY 


Printed for the use of the Committee on Insular Affairs 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 







COMMITTEE ON THE PHILIPPINES. 

United States Senate. 


WARREN G. HARDING, Ohio, Chairman. 


WILLIAM S. KENYON, Iowa. 
PHILANDER C. KNOX, Pennsylvania. 
HIRAM W. JOHNSON, California. 
CHARLES L. McNARY, Oregon. 

CHARLES CURTIS, Kansas. 

JOSEPH C. FRELINGHUYSEN, New Jersey. 
FREDERICK HALE, Maine. 


DUNCAN U. FLETCHER, Florida. 

J. C. W. BECKHAM, Kentucky. 

JAMES D. PHELAN, California. 
GILBERT M. HITCHCOCK, Nebraska. 
JOE T. ROBINSON, Arkansas. 
GEORGE E. CHAMBERLAIN, Oregon. 
JOHN K. SHIELDS, Tennessee. 


COMMITTEE ON INSULAR AFFAIRS. 
House of Representatives. 
HORACE M. TOWNER, Iowa, Chairman. 


CHARLES E. FULLER, Illinois. 

JAMES P. GLYNN, Connecticut. 

BENJAMIN K. FOCHT, Pennsylvania. 
JOHN I. NOLAN, California. 

CHARLES A. NICHOLS, Michigan. 

IRA G. HERSEY, Maine. 

FREDERICK N. ZIHLMAN, Maryland. 
HAROLD KNUTSON, Minnesota. 

LOUIS W. FAIRFIELD, Indiana. 

WILLIS J. HULINGS, Pennsylvania. 
CLARENCE MacGREGOR, New York. 

JOHN C. KLECZKA, Wisconsin. 

2 - 

fli,- 

jul 


FINIS J. GARRETT, Tennessee. 
CLEMENT BRUMBAUGH, Ohio. 
CHRISTOPHER D. SULLIVAN, New York. 
TOM D. McKEOWN, Oklahoma. 
LEONIDAS D. ROBINSON, North Carolina. 
MARVIN JONES, Texas. 

FRED H. DOMINICK, South Carolina. 
SCHUYLER O. BLAND, Texas. 

FELIX CORDOVA DAVILA, Porto Rico. 


•f s. 

9 1929 









PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Committee on the Philippines, 

United States Senate, 
Committee on Insular Affairs, 

House of Representatives, 

Monday , June 0, 1919. 

The committee met at 10.30 o’clock a. m., Hon. Horace M. Towner 
(chairman) presiding. 

The Chairman. Gentlemen, in opening these hearings, held by 
the joint committees of the Senate and House for the purpose of 
hearing particularly from the Philippine Commissioners who are now 
in this country, sent by the action of the Philippine Legislature, 
I am going to merely make the statement that it gives both the 
committee of the House and of the Senate great pleasure to welcome 
you here for the purpose for which you have been sent. Certainly 
from every possible standpoint it will be of great benefit to the peo¬ 
ple of the United States and to your people and to our Representa¬ 
tives in Congress and to your legislature if we shall have a better 
knowledge of each other's conditions and circumstances. On our 
part we want you to feel that you have a perfect right to ask of 
us at any time anything that you think will beneficially affect your 
interests. We do not want you to regard this as a matter that goes 
by grace or favor; we want you to understand that it is always your 
right. You do not need to apologize in order to come to us when¬ 
ever you desire to ask us to consider anything affecting your in¬ 
terests. 

In opening these hearings I am quite sure that I voice the senti¬ 
ment not only of the committees but of the American Congress when 
I say we want you to be perfectly frank to say what you desire to 
say; to ask for anything that you desire to ask for; to present any 
facts, reasons, or conditions which you think we ought to know as 
affecting your interests. Especially we would like to have you give 
us information regarding existing conditions in the Philippines; 
regarding the progress that you are making; regarding what you 
may need in the way of legislation affecting your interests, not only 
politically but economically and socially, or anything that would 
make for the betterment of your people commercially. In this busy 
age it is necessary that these matters should be called to our atten¬ 
tion. You understand, without my telling you, that there is an in¬ 
sistent demand for very pressing and very important legislation, 
and unless you press your demands it is not likely that they will 
receive consideration. 

We want to know what you want, what you desire. The people 
of the United States haven’t anything but the most kindly feeling 
and cordial wishes for your success, and if we can help you in any 
way we want to do it. We want to be in a position to at least con- 

3 



4 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


sider w,hat you think ought to be done, and we want you to feel per¬ 
fectly free, as I said before, to make your statements in your own 
way, without any reservations, without any hesitancy, with no feel¬ 
ing that you are asking favors, but with the consciousness that you 
are here by right and that we will give you a fair and impartial hear¬ 
ing upon not only this occasion but upon all others. 

The chairman of the delegation, Mr. Quezon, who is president of 
the senate, and who was for several years a Representative of the 
Philippines in Congress, will be asked to take charge of the presenta¬ 
tion of these matters, and the committee, I think, will be very glad 
to hear from him. 

I have asked Senator Harding, chairman of the Senate committee, 
to preside, but this morning he peremptorily declines. I think here¬ 
after I may be able to induce him to act in that capacity, which will 
be fitting and proper, and in accord and certainly with my desire. 

The chairman will recognize Mr. Quezon. 

STATEMENT OF HON. MANUEL L. QUEZON, PRESIDENT OF THE 

PHILIPPINE SENATE AND CHAIRMAN OF THE PHILIPPINE 

MISSION. 

Mr. Quezon. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, we 
have listened with a great deal of interest and gratification to the 
remarks of the chairman. 

We deem it, indeed, a distinct honor and privilege to be received 
and heard by both committees of the Senate and House sitting jointly, 
especially because at this time there are many problems of domestic 
nature and of international character pressing for your immediate 
consideration. 

The Philippine Legislature, in accordance with the wishes of the 
Filipino people, sent a special mission to this country bearing the 
message of good will, respect, and gratitude from the people of the 
Philippine Islands to the Government and people of the United 
States. This mission is truly and thoroughly representative. It is 
composed of men representing all walks of life in the Philippines. 
It is presided over by the president of the senate and counts in its 
membership secretaries of departments, senators, representatives, 
the attorney general, deans and professors of the University of the 
Philippines, the assistant director of the bureau of education, and 
men representing the commercial, industrial, and agricultural inter¬ 
ests of the country as well as the labor element. 

The following represent the Philippine Legislature: Manuel L. 
Quezon, president Philippine Senate, chairman of the mission; 
Rafael Palma, senator, fourth district (Manila), vice chairman of 
the mission; Pedro M. Sison, senator, second district (Panga- 
sinan) ; V. Singson Encarnacion, senator, first district (Ilocos); 
Rafael Alunan, representative (Occidental Negros), majority floor 
leader; Emiliano Tria Tirona, representative (Cavite), minority 
floor leader; Gregorio Nieva, repesentative (Tayabas); Mariano 
Escueta, representative (Bulacan) ; Manuel Escudero, representative 
(Sorsogon) ; Pedro Aunario, representative (Mountain Province). 

Those who represent the cabinet are Rafael Palma, secretary of the 
interior, and Dionisio Jakosalem, secretary of commerce and com¬ 
munications. 


i 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


5 


The resident commissioners from the Philippines in the United 
States, Messrs. Jaime C. de Veyra and Teodoro R. Yangco, are mem¬ 
bers ex officio. Mr. Pablo Ocampo was formerly Resident Commis¬ 
sioner from the Philippines to the United States and a member of 
the Malolos Congress. 

Those representing agricultural interests are Filemon Perez, former 
representative (Tayabas) ; Jose Reyes, former governor of Misamis; 
Delfin Mahinay, former representative (Occidental Negros), and 
Ceferino de Leon, former representative (Bulacan). 

The following represent the industrial interests: Tomas Earnshaw, 
president Earnshaw’s Engineering and Slipways Co., and Pedro Gil, 
coconut-oil manufacturer. 

Those representing commercial interests are Mauro Prieto, general 
manager Germinal Cigar and Cigarette Factory; Juan B. Alegre, 
hemp merchant; Carlos Cuyugan, vice president Compahia Mercan- 
til de Filipinas; and Marcos Roces, general merchant. 

Drs. Gregorio Singian and Perpetuo Gutierrez represent the medi¬ 
cal profession. The lawyers are represented by Gabriel La O, mem¬ 
ber of the Philippine and United States Supreme Court bars. 

The labor elements have sent Crisanto Evangelista as their repre¬ 
sentative. The University of the Philippines is represented by Prof. 
Jorge Bocobo, dean, college of law; Prof. Conrado Benitez, dean, 
college of liberal arts; and Assist. Prof. Maximo M. Kalaw, secretary 
of the mission. 

The department of justice is represented by Quintin Paredes, attor¬ 
ney general for the Philippine Islands, and Jose A. Santos, assistant 
attorney general. 

Education is represented by Camilo Osias, assistant director of edu¬ 
cation. 

The Philippine National Guard is represented by Maj. Jorge B. 
Vargas, aid-de-camp to the chairman of the mission; and Capt. Ber- 
nabe Bustamante, disbursing officer of the mission. 

The press is represented by Arsenio N. Luz, editor El Ideal, and 
Francisco Varona, associate editor El Debate. 

Messrs. Julian La O and Guillermo Cabrera came as members of 
the clerical staff of the mission. 

So large and representative a body, Mr. Chairman, has come to you 
charged by our people with the noble and sacred mission of pleading 
for the national independence of the Philippine Islands. The Filipino 
people feel that the time has come when steps should be taken imme¬ 
diately by the Government of the United States for the recognition 
of the sovereignty of the Filipino people over their own country. It 
is, I think, the first time in the history of the world where a country 
under the sovereignty of another seeks its separation from the latter 
not on the ground of grievances or abuses that call for redress but 
rather on the ground that the work of the ruling country has been so 
well and nobly performed that it is no longer necessary that she should 
still direct the destinies of her colony; and so the colony, with love 
and gratitude for the governing country, seeks her separation. 

We have nothing but words of praise and appreciation for the w T ork 
so well performed by the United States, and yet you will readily 
understand why nothing short of independence would ever fully 
satisfy our people. The granting of our national freedom at this time 


6 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


is in accordance with the avowed policy of the United States with 
regard to the Philippine Islands. 

Upon the declaration of war between the United States and Spain, 
President McKinley, then the President of the United States, said 
that forcible annexation, in accordance with American principles, was 
criminal aggression; and when he sent the first Philippine commis- 
. sion to the Philippine Islands he expressed the hope that the members 
of the commission would be received by the Filipino people as the rep¬ 
resentatives “ of a liberating rather than of a conquering Nation.” 

Again President McKinley said: 

We shall continue, ns we have begun, to open the schools and the churches, 
to set the courts in operation, to foster industry and trade and agriculture, 
and in every way in our power, to make these people whom Providence has 
brought within our jurisdiction feel that it is their liberty, and not our power, 
their welfare and not our gain, we are seeking to enhance. 

President Roosevelt, following the same policy as President Mc¬ 
Kinley, time and time again enunciated that the purpose of the 
United States in the Philippine Islands was to help the Filipinos to 
establish their own government. I shall, with the permission of 
the committee and in order not to take up its time now, insert as 
a part of my remarks declarations made by President Roosevelt and 
President Taft, and those made by President Wilson. 

(The matter referred to follows:) 

In 1906 President Roosevelt said: 

“We are constantly increasing the measure of liberty accorded the islanders, 
and next spring, if conditions warrant, we shall take a great stride forward 
in testing their capacity for self-government by summoning the first Filipino 
legislative assembly; and the way in which they stand this test will largely 
determine whether the self-government thus granted will be increased or 
decreased.” 

And in referring to the assembly, he said: 

“ Hitherto this Philippine legislature has acted with moderation and self- 
restraint and has seemed, in practieai fashion, to realize the eternal truth that 
there must always be government, and that the only way in which any body 
of individuals can escape the necessity of being governed by outsiders is to 
show that they are able to restrain themselves, to keep down wrongdoing 
and disorder. The Filipino people, through their officials, are therefore mak¬ 
ing real steps in the direction of self-government. I hope and believe that 
these steps mark the beginning of a course which will continue till the Fili¬ 
pinos become fit to decide for themselves whether they desire to be an inde¬ 
pendent nation.” 

And he also said: 

“ I trust that within a generation the time will arrive when the Filipinos 
can decide for themselves whether it is well for them to become independent 
or to continue under the protection of a strong and disinterested power, able 
to guarantee to the islands order at home and protection from foreign in¬ 
vasion.” 

In a message delivered on the 6th of December, 1912, President Taft said: 

“ We should * * * endeavor to secure for the Filipinos economic inde¬ 

pendence and to fit them for complete self-government, with the power to 
decide eventually, according to their own largest good, whether such self- 
government shall be accompanied by independence.” 

On the 1st of March, 1913, President Taft adverted to the Democratic plat¬ 
form with reference to the Philippines and quoted that portion of it which 
referred to the purpose of the United States to “ recognize the independence of 
the Philippine Islands as soon as a stable government can be established,” 
and said that this was “ an affirmation of policy only slightly differing from 
that repeatedly announced by this and preceding Republican administrations.” 

President Wilson in a message to the Filipino people delivered by Gov. 
Harrison in Manila, October 6, 1913, said: 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 7 

“ We regard ourselves as trustees acting not for the advantage of the 
United States but for the benefit of the people of the Philippine Islands. 

“ Every step we take will be taken with a view to the ultimate independence 
of the islands and as a preparation for that independence. And we hope 
to move toward that end as rapidly as the safety and the permanent interests 
of the islands will permit.” 

After these declarations were made by the Chief Executives of this 
country, the Congress of the United States in 1916 passed a law 
entitled: “ An act to declare the purpose of the people of the United 
States as to the future political status of the people of the Philippine 
Islands, and to provide a more autonomous government for those 
islands.” 

This act in its preamble says: 

Whereas it was never the intention of the people of the United States in 
the incipiency of the War with Spain to make it a war of conquest or terri¬ 
torial aggrandizement; and, 

Whereas it has always been the purpose of the people of the United States 
to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to recognize their 
independence as soon as a stable government can be established; and, 

Whereas for the speedy accomplishment of such purpose it is desirable to 
place in the hands of the people of the Philippines as large a control of their 
domestic affairs as can be given them without in the meantime imperiling the 
exercise of their rights of sovereignty by the people of the United States, in 
order that by the use and exercise of popular franchise and governmental 
powers they may be the better prepared to fully assume the responsibilities and 
enjoy all the privileges of complete independence. 

This law, therefore, was enacted for the avowed purpose of promis¬ 
ing independence to the Philippines and giving the Filipinos an 
opportunity to learn—if they did not know, and to demonstrate if 
they did—their capacity to govern themselves. This act has been in 
operation for three years. It was passed at a time when the whole 
world was in one of the most critical periods in its history. It re¬ 
quired ability, patriotism, and intelligence of the highest order on 
the part of the people of the Philippine Islands to create the new 
government as provided by this act, and to assume the new respon¬ 
sibilities in the face of the perplexing problems brought about by 
the war. How my people have succeeded, I shall refer the committee 
to the official reports of the Governor General of the Philippine 
Islands, as well as the Acting Governor General, Vice Governor 
Yea ter, regarding the doings of the present Philippine government. 

All I want to say is, that this government has practically assumed 
the responsibilities of the United States in the Philippine Islands, 
not only in our domestic affairs, but also in so far as your interna¬ 
tional responsibilities are concerned. We have kept order and peace 
during these three years of war. We have not only done that, we 
have not only kept peace and order within our borders, but we were 
ready—nay, anxious—once you had entered the war yourselves, to 
go outside of the Philippines and fight with you and for you in the 
battle fields of France, or wherever the Government of the United 
States would care to send our men. The Filipinos have shown in this 
critical time their loyalty to the United States, their appreciation of 
what you have done for them and have shown it not in words but 
in deeds. They have organized their National Guard for service 
abroad; they have in every instance oversubscribed their allotment 
of Liberty bonds; they have offered the United States a submarine 
and a destroyer; they have contributed to the Bed Cross ; and, more 


8 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


significant than all these, every man in the Philippine Islands was 
ready to fight for your flag. 

What we have done in the Philippines, gentlemen of the com¬ 
mittee, to help you win the war, is very little I know, but if you 
would consider it, not in terms of cents and dollars but in terms of 
what they meant, how the Filipinos felt while they were doing this, 
we have really done everything we could do. 

The Filipinos have organized, as I said, a new government. 
Under this new government the country’ has made progress in educa¬ 
tion, in commerce, in industry, in agriculture. In other words, it 
has made progress in every way. So we feel that the conditions laid 
down by the Jones Act as prerequisite for the granting of Philippine 
independence have been performed; that we have shown not only 
that a stable government can be established in the islands but that 
there is now one there. 

There is still another reason why we think that the independence 
of the Philippines should be granted at this time and that is because 
of the attitude taken by this Government in the recent war. You said 
you have gone to war for the liberation of mankind; for the right of 
every people to govern themselves. Indeed, you have made good 
those declarations in thus far recognizing the independent existence 
of several countries of Europe; certainly it would be nothing but 
natural that the Filipinos should feel that you would make those 
declarations good with regard to the people of the Philippines. You 
have recognized the independence of countries of Europe which have 
been under the control of autocratic powers; who have had no oppor¬ 
tunity of exercising the -powers of self-government, and to these 
countries you were not pledged to give independence, you were not in 
any way related, you were not tied by bonds of long association and 
affection. How can you afford not to recognize the independence of 
the Filipino people whom you have solemnly promised independence, 
whom you have helped to acquire the science and practice of self- 
government, and who are bound to you by ties of affection, friend¬ 
ship, and eternal gratitude? The granting of our national freedom 
will be at this time the object lesson that you could give to the world 
that this country can give of her belief in democracy and in the 
rights of every people to be free and to govern themselves. 

The Chairman. Mr. Quezon, if you will allow me to interrupt 
you—as I understand it, your legislature adopted a memorial or peti¬ 
tion which they desired to present to Congress ? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir. 

The Chairman. Did you desire to present that for the considera¬ 
tion of the committee? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir; I shall ask the committee’s permission to let 
me present those documents as part of my remarks. The legislature 
has passed a joint resolution giving instructions to the independence 
commission as to the purposes of the Filipino people, and the inde¬ 
pendence commission has given instructions to the Philippine mis¬ 
sion. Both of these documents I shall presently submit to the com¬ 
mittee. 

The Chairman. If you desire—and I think it would be proper— 
that they should be printed as part of the proceedings of the commit¬ 
tee, that will be done. Let me suggest to you also that if you so 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


9 


desire your commissioners in Congress can present them as a petition 
to Congress. Your commissioners can ask permission that they be 
printed in the Congressional Record, so that they may become offi¬ 
cially a part of the proceedings of Congress. All of this will be 
done if you desire it. Of course, you may carry out your own pro¬ 
gram if you have one, but I am simply making that suggestion. 

Mr. Quezon. That is what we shall do, Judge. I thank you. 

Senator Harding. I would like to ask Senator Quezon just a ques¬ 
tion. Do you want the committee to construe the purport of your 
appeal to be a complete severance of relations without any protector¬ 
ate or anything of that sort? 

Mr. Quezon. Senator, we are not now making a concrete proposi¬ 
tion as to that, because the Philippine Legislature has not given us 
concrete instructions on this matter, since we think that the future re¬ 
lations between the United States and the Philippine Islands should be 
discussed between representatives of the Government of the United 
States and representatives of the Philippine Islands commissioned to 
this effect after congressional legislation has been enacted whereby 
independence of the Philippines shall have been recognized. How¬ 
ever, I might anticipate the assertion that the people of the Philip¬ 
pines are prepared to have the independence of the country recog¬ 
nized by the United States without any protectorate; but if it should 
be deemed preferable by the United States that some kind of political 
relationship should exist, we would we willing to accept that. In 
other words, we shall take the independence of the Philippines with 
or without any protection. 

Senator Harding. Well, the point I am trying to get at is, you are 
voicing the aspirations of the Filipinos; what is your judgment about 
that? Do you want to be wholly severed from any connection with 
the United States in your independence? 

Mr. Quezon. Are you asking me my preference or my judgment, 
Senator ? 

Senator Harding. I am asking for your expression or your judg¬ 
ment. 

Mr. Quezon. Well, perhaps it might be to the interest of both the 
United States and the Philippines that some kind of understanding 
should exist whereby after the independence of the islands has been 
recognized that there still be some kind of connection between the 
two countries. But that is merely a secondary consideration, I 
think. The most essential thing is that the independence of the Phil¬ 
ippines be recognized—either absolute independence or independence 
under the protectorate of the United States. 

Senator Harding. Which would your commission prefer? 

Mr. Quezon. I think that the independence of the Philippines 
under the league is what at the present time appeals to everybody in 
the Philippines. But if there be no league the Filipinos would like 
to see the independence of the Philippines recognized and guaran¬ 
teed by international agreement between the great powers; but if 
that should not be possible, they want independence, anyway. 

The Chairman. Mr. Quezon, the Philippines have been making— 
especially during the last few years—very remarkable progress, have 
they not? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir. 


10 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


The Chairman. And some of your commissioners will make a 
statement of that, as to the facts and figures in regard to it, in the 
hearing, I believe. Now, that being true and present conditions in 
the islands being so satisfactory, I suppose that it is not really im¬ 
perative that immediate consideration of this matter should be given, 
is it; that is, as to the question of independence ? 

Mr. Quezon. Does the judge wish me to answer how the Filipino 
people would feel about it? 

The Chairman. Yes. 

Mr. Quezon. My very sincere and earnest belief is that the people 
of the Philippine Islands would be sorely disappointed if no imme¬ 
diate action is taken, unless they understand that action in the near 
future is contemplated, because the truth of the matter is that the 
Filipinos have confidently expected that as soon as the war was over 
the independence of the islands would be granted. 

The Chairman. Supposing the members of the commission should 
say to your people—as they could very truthfully say—“ The United 
States now are simply engrossed, overwhelmed with the process of 
reconstruction and rehabilitation; they are almost bankrupt; they 
can’t get enough money to run the Government, and all of these 
pressing matters are before them. If we press this question of inde¬ 
pendence upon them, it is not a question that will receive their care¬ 
ful consideration at this time, perhaps; it would seem better that the 
matter should be considered by Congress at a time when it could re¬ 
ceive careful consideration ”; wouldn’t that have some effect upon 
your position ? 

Mr. Quezon. Of course we will have to do the best we can, because 
we can’t force you to enact legislation. 

The Chairman. No ; that is not the proposition. The proposition 
in my mind is this: Is it wise for you—you know these conditions 
that exist in Congress; you can’t just ask Congress for something and 
have it granted. You know these conditions that exist in Congress; 
is it best now, even from your standpoint, for you to ask immediate 
consideration by Congress of this question when the probabilities are 
that in the first place they wouldn’t consider it now; and if they did 
consider it, the probabilities are it would not receive such considera¬ 
tion as you ask and as the subject deserves? Would it be wise to 
present that matter and ask the Congress to do those things now ? 

Mr. Quezon. We think so, and that is why this mission has been 
sent here; but if Ave can not get action, anyway, the question does not 
seem to be whether it is the best thing to do or not. 

The Chairman. It is not a question of whether it is best or not; 
the difficulty really is that I don’t believe Ave can get action at this 
time. That is the truth about it. 

Mr. Quezon. We really think it would be better if we could get 
this Congress to act. That is the reason why this commission has 
been sent by the Philippine Legislature, because the people of the 
Philippine Islands thought that this was the best time, since you are 
just now engaged in the work of defining the geographical and eth¬ 
nical demarcations of the world. But I can see, with my experience 
in Congress, that, with the situation here in the United States- 

The Chairman. This is not so much a question of principle as it is 
a policy that I am suggesting to you noAv. EA^ery proposition that 



PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


11 


comes before Congress for consideration consists of two things: First, 
is it desirable legislation; second, is it possible to secure it under ex¬ 
isting circumstances? 1 am suggesting to you the consideration of 
the second question. 

Mr. Quezon. That is just it. I suppose you know that better than 
I do. 

Senator Harding. I want to ask Mr. Quezon one question: Based 
upon your experience as a Delegate in Congress, would you advocate 
an earnest consideration of this question while the world—and the 
Senate in particular—are engaged in discussing the league of na¬ 
tions; or would you wait until the question of the league of nations 
is definitely disposed of? 

Mr. Quezon. Well, from the standpoint of the Filipino, Senator, 
this is a very appropriate time. Now, this is the way the Filipinos 
look at the matter; but with my experience in Congress, I can see how 
you would view it. I realize the difficulties you have in your way; but 
if you are asking me as to the wisdom of immediate action I answer, 
as a Filipino, in the affirmative, because I do not believe that the 
present state of affairs in Europe or in this country should interfere 
with the recognition of Philippine independence at this time. You 
can easily grant the Filipinos their independence, because that is a 
matter to be decided simply and solely bv the United States Govern¬ 
ment. Noav, suppose there is no league of nations, then the process of 
recognizing Philippine independence will be like the process of the 
recognition of all other countries that have been independent hereto¬ 
fore. The United States will simply recognize it and I take it the 
other nations will follow suit. And if there is a league of nations, of 
course, we want the Philippines to become a member of the league, 
and since you are our sponsors, I suppose we Avould easily be ad¬ 
mitted. So I don’t really see any reason for waiting. I think that 
one joint resolution of Congress could grant Philippine independence 
and do it in 24 hours, if Congress felt like doing it. 

Senator Chamberlain. What would then happen to the Philip¬ 
pines if within the next 60 days we absolutely severed relations with 
the Philippine Islands and recognized their independence? What 
would happen then ? 

Mr. Quezon. We w T ould proceed to do one thing only, Senator, and 
that is to elect the successor to the Governor General whom you have 
sent there—to elect a president of the Philippine republic. We have 
the rest of the governmental machinery properly established and con¬ 
stituted. 

Senator Chamberlain. You have the machinery in all the Prov¬ 
inces, no matter what their language or racial condition is? You 
think you have the machinery ready to set in motion ? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir; absolutely. All we need—and we can easily 
do it—is to elect a president of the Philippine republic. That we 
could do within those 60 days. 

The Chairman. Mr. Quezon, let me call your attention to the 
fact that if you are an independent country you will have to organize 
an independent government. You have none now; you have no con¬ 
stitution; you have the organic act of the United States, but you 
have no constitution of the Philippine Islands. It would be necessary 
for you to present the constitution for consideration of your own 
people and probably for the consideration of Congress. 


12 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Mr. Quezon. I was simply answering the Senator s practical ques¬ 
tion. The Senator asked me what would happen if the United States 
should withdraw sovereignty over the Philippines in 60 days. Natu¬ 
rally, in this case we should have to establish at once a provisional 
government that would take the place of the United States. If you 
gave us six months, then we would call a constitutional convention, 
adopt our constitution, and elect the officers provided therein. But 
if you withdraw your sovereignty in 60 or 30 days, I say again that 
all we have to do would be to elect a president. We have to-day a 
cabinet, a senate, and a house of representatives, a judiciary, etc. In 
one word, we have now the whole machinery of government estab¬ 
lished in the islands except the chief executive of the whole nation. 

Mr. Nolan. Mr. Quezon, then, if I understand you right, your idea 
is that if we are trying to apply the principle of self-determination 
as a practical proposition to all the rest of the world, we ought to be 
in a position now to apply it to our own territory ? 

Mr. Quezon. Exactly. 

Mr. Nolan. How many different languages are spoken in the 
Philippines? 

Mr. Quezon. There are three main dialects—the Tagalo, Ilocano, 
and Visayan. There are several other dialects, but either of those 
three is spoken by every Filipino. 

Senator Fletcher. How many political parties have you in the 
Philippines? You spoke in your opening remarks about a minority 
party. What parties have you ? 

Mr. Quezon. We haA T e two parties now. One is called the Nacional- 
ista Party and the other is the Partido Democrata. 

Senator Fletcher. What is the difference in their principles? 

Mr. Quezon. Senator, it is very hard to say now, because both 
parties are in favor of Philippine independence. I am afraid that 
there is about as much difference between those two parties in the 
Philippines as you will find between all political parties everywhere— 
we are in and somebody has to be out. [Laughter.] 

Senator Fletcher. It is a question of the “ outs ” against the “ ins.” 

Senator Chamberlain. Mr. Quezon, you say that if independence 
of the Philippines were recognized at once and their relations with 
the United States were severed that you could proceed to organize a 
stable form of government ? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir. 

Senator Chamberlain. 1 on will remember that in this country in 
1783, after we had won our independence, it took till 1789 to get the 
Constitution ratified, and here was a condition which existed between 
people who practically all spoke the same language. In view of the 
difficulties that confronted us, don’t you think you will have serious 
difficulties in enacting a constitution or in adopting a constitution 
after your independence has been recognized? In other words, don’t 
you think it would be safer for the Philippines to adopt some form 
°f constitution and submit it with your request for the recognition of 
your independence? 

Mr. Quezon. Undoubtedly, Senator. I did not mean, in my an¬ 
swer to your question before, to say that that was the thing that we 
had in mind. My own personal plan would be this: The Govern¬ 
ment of the United States should authorize the people of the Philip- 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


13 


pine Islands to hold a constitutional convention; to adopt their con¬ 
stitution ; to submit it for the approval of the Congress of the United 
States, and, once approved, let them elect the officers as provided in 
that constitution, and, when those officers have been elected, to recog¬ 
nize Philippine independence. That has been your policy in Cuba. 
Those have been the practical steps taken in Cuba, and that is all 
that is necessary to be done in the Philippines. 

Senator Chamberlain. In other words, you think it would be well 
to provide for the formulation of a constitution over there by some 
convention and have it submitted to the people for their ratification? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir. 

Senator Chamberlain. And subsequently submitted to the United 
States with your request for independence? It seems to me that 
would be the practical thing. That can’t be done in six months, nor 
can it be done in a year. 

Mr. Quezon. It certainly can, Senator. I shall be very happy 
and the people of the Philippines will be very happy if we could 
just secure at this time a resolution through both Houses of Congress 
authorizing the people of the Philippine Islands to adopt a constitu¬ 
tion and submit it to the Government of the United States for ap¬ 
proval. 

Senator Chamberlain. Would that resolution, adopted by Con¬ 
gress, be necessary to enable you to proceed now upon some such 
system as you may decide upon to adopt a constitution and submit 
it to the people for their ratification? Then the Congress of the 
United States would know exactly what you want to do. 

Mr. Quezon. I don’t believe that it is necessary to have authority 
from the Congress of the United States. I think we can do that, 
but- 

Senator Chamberlain. It seems to me that Congress has already 
adopted a resolution in the form of a statute recognizing the right 
of Philippine independence, upon the determination upon the part 
of the United States eventually to grant it. 

Senator Harding. Doesn’t that savor a little of defiance of the 
United States, Senator, to undertake to adopt a constitution in ad¬ 
vance of authority to do so ? 

Senator Chamberlain. In advance of our authority ? 

Senator Harding. Yes. 

Senator Chamberlain. I think it might not be binding; but it 
would give an expression of the opinion of the Filipino as to just 
what he wants. 

Senator Phelan. Mr. Chairman, there is a precedent in the case 
of the State of California, which adopted a constitution and subse¬ 
quently applied for admission to the Union—and Texas as well. 

I would like to ask Mr. Quezon if, after he was assured of inde¬ 
pendence, would it be the intention of his government to apply to 
the league of nations, if it existed at that time, for membership, and 
would he regard that as sufficient protection against outside aggres¬ 
sion? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir; I think so. 

Senator Phelan. And your desire is to have your independence 
within a reasonable time now, in order that you might make that 
application for membership in the league of nations ? 


14 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir. But of course we don’t want it to be under • 
stood that our petition for independence is to be made dependent 
upon the existence of the league of nations. Of course, if there is 
to be a league of nations, we should like to become members of the 
league. 

Senator Phelan. Well, you are more familiar than we are with 
conditions in Asia. Do you mean to say that you have no fear of 
outside aggression in the event you are without protection of the 
United States or the league of nations ? 

Mr. Quezon. That is exactly what I mean. 

Senator Phelan. You have no fear of outside aggression? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir. 

Senator Phelan. Then, if aggression occurs you are in a position 
to resist it? 

Mr. Quezon. I don’t mean to say that. It would be too much for 
a Filipino to say that the Philippine Islands could withstand an 
attack from a first-class power now. We can’t do it—not to-day, 
anyway, nor I think the next 10 years or 15 years. Perhaps after 
that time we might be able to make it so hard for a nation to conquer 
the Philippines that no nation would care to do it. But we could 
not defend ourselves now, say, against Japan; but we do not believe 
that Japan has any desire to attack the Philippines. 

Senator Phelan. Well, it is not good international manners to 
attack people, but they insinuate themselves by zones of influence. 
You see that every day in Asia now. 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir. But, Senator, if the physical power of a 
nation to resist the aggression of any other is essential for the recog¬ 
nition of that nation’s independence, there are many nations in 
Europe that should not be independent. France could not have 
resisted alone the attack of Germany, and according to that theory 
France should not have been independent, nor should Belgium and 
many other countries be independent. The world has risen up in 
arms just to stop land-grabbing nations from their plans of world 
domination. So we don’t think that any power would wantonly inter¬ 
fere with our independence. The fear that many people have that 
Japan would grab the Philippine Islands is baseless. We don’t 
think that Japan would do that. In the first place, if you granted 
the Philippines their independence now, for Japan to go and attack 
the Philippine Islands would be a challenge to the United States 
itself. You don’t have to assume the protection of the Philippine 
Islands; you don’t have to stand sponsor for Philippine inde¬ 
pendence, the world would know and the Japanese people would 
know that you would resent their attacking the Philippines after 
their independence has been granted by the United States. 

You would be proud of your deed. You would call the attention 
of mankind that you have generously and deliberately granted a 
weak nation its independence; and no" nation will interfere with so 
magnanimous and glorious an act. In the second place, no nation 
attacks another except with the expectation of gaining more than it 
loses in the attack. And Japan or any other nation will not profit 
as much as it would lose in conquering the Philippine Islands. Con¬ 
quests are undertaken now either because of need of territory or for 
strategical reasons. Japan does not seem to be just now very anxious 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


15 


10 get more land; she has plenty in Manchuria, Korea, and For¬ 
mosa, and certainly she has not shown herself to be a good colonizer 
of tropical lands. 

As far as strategical reasons are concerned, Japan does not need 
the Philippines except to get the Philippines out of the hands of 
other powers. I should think that Japan might care to take the 
Philippines if the Philippines were independent and Germany were 
still in her career of conquest, for fear that Germany might come 
and conquer the Philippines and use them as a basis for an attack 
on Japan. That is the reason given by Japan for her conquering 
Korea—that Russia wanted Korea. But there is no European coun¬ 
try that we think would like to take the Philippines if the Philip¬ 
pines have their independence; therefore Japan for strategical rea¬ 
sons will not need the Philippines. For commercial reasons Japan 
need not conquer us because she could just as well trade with us if 
we were independent. 

Senator Piielan. Now, what do you think about the possibility of 
Japan peacefully colonizing the Philippines as she is doing Cali¬ 
fornia ? 

Mr. Quezon. Why, Senator, we can’t prevent that, if Japan desires 
to do it. 

Senator Phelan. You can’t prevent that? 

Mr. Quezon. No. 

Senator Phelan. That would be the easiest way of conquest, 
wouldn’t it? 

Mr. Quezon. But, Senator, you are not giving us protection to-day 
against that system of conquest. The Japanese are going to the 
Philippine Islands to-day and taking land there. 

Senator Phelan. The Japanese are? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir. And the Philippine Legislature enacted a 
law limiting the ownership of land to Americans and Filipinos, but 
that law required approval of the President, and the State Depart¬ 
ment was about to recommend the veto of the President so we had 
to withdraw it. Therefore we are not getting any protection on that 
score from the United States to-day. 

Senator Phelan. How long has it been since that law was passed? 

Mr. Quezon. Nearly two years. 

Senator Phelan. And our State Department has refused its ap¬ 
proval ? 

Mr. Quezon. It has indicated to the Philippine Legislature that 
it could not approve it. 

Senator Chamberlain. The Senator from California will remem¬ 
ber that the State Department undertook to prevent the California 
Legislature from passing just such a law. 

Mr. Quezon. But California can legislate on these matters, and we 
can not without the approval of the President of the United States. 
So in this respect we are as badly off to-day as we would be if we were 
independent, except that if we were independent we would have 
absolute right to pass such laws, if we deemed it necessary. 

Senator Phelan. Possibly it was due, in a diplomatic way. to the 
European complications that the State Department withheld its 
approval. Probably the time is not ripe. 

Mr. Quezon. In the meantime, they are acquiring lands. 


16 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Senator Phelan. Are they acquiring lands in large areas, large 
quantities ? 

Mr. Quezon. Not in any unusual way.. 

Senator Phelan. What is the attitude of your people toward that ? 
Having passed a law by your own congress or legislature, what is 
the attitude of your people? Have they protested to the govern¬ 
ment ? Have there been several sessions of the legislature since then ? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir; and the legislature passed that law again. 
The legislature tried to meet the objections of the State Department, 
and they amended the law and passed it again. 

Senator Phelan. The Filipino people can’t acquire lands in Japan, 
can they ? 

Mr. Quezon. No, sir. 

Senator Phelan. And your laborers, are they free to go to Japan 
and take employment? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir; I think they are. But we are not sending 
them. They don’t need to go there. 

Mr. Nolan. About how many Japanese are there in the Philippine 
Islands ? 

Mr. Quezon. Very few; about 10,000—a little over 10,000. 

Mr. Nolan. What percentage of them are native born, born in the 
Philippines ? 

Mr. Quezon. Of the Japanese? 

Mr. Nolan. Yes. 

Mr. Quezon. I don’t think there are any. 

Mr. Nolan. They don’t have any “ picture brides ” come to the 
Philippines, then? 

Mr. Quezon. I don’t know. 

Mr. Nolan. You understand what a “picture bride” is? 

Mr. Quezon. Oh, yes; I understand. 

Mr. Nolan. In other words, the restrictions are not so great on the 
Japanese coming into the Philippines as they are coming into this 
country under the “gentlemen’s agreement?” 

Mr. Quezon. I don’t think so. 

Mr. Nolan. So they don’t have to practice the same deception? 

Mr. Quezon. No. 

Mr. Fairfield. I would like to inquire what functions the Govern¬ 
ment of the United States is now exercising in the Philippine 
Islands ? 

Mr. Quezon. What functions? 

Mr. Fairfield. Yes; what functions do we now exercise in the 
Philippine Islands? In other words, as I understood from your 
statement, you are practically controlling the islands now. 

Mr. Quezon. The Congress of the United States has the right to 
annul any law passed by the Philippine Legislature. The President 
of the United States has the right to exercise an absolute veto power 
over all our legislation that has been vetoed by the governor general 
and the governor’s veto overridden by a two-thirds vote of our legis¬ 
lature. The President of the United States has the power to dis¬ 
approve any legislation enacted by the Philippine Legislature con¬ 
cerning land, mining, naturalization, immigration, currency, and 
tariff: and the governor general, who is an appointee of the President, 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


17 


has the right of appointing all the officers of the Philippine Govern¬ 
ment provided by law; he has the right to veto every act enacted by 
the Philippine Legislature, and he has, therefore, general control and 
supervision of the government of the Philippines. 

Mr. I airfield. Well, as I understand you, you have already had 
from three to five years’ experience in self-government ? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Fairfield. Has the Government through its representatives 
interfered specifically in such a way that you could not freely and 
fully test out your own ability? 

Mr. Quezon. No, sir; the policy of Governor General Harrison has 
been to carry out not only the letter but the spirit of the Jones Act, 
and so Governor General Harrison has allowed the people of the 
Philippine Islands to manage the country during these three years. 

Mr. Fairfield. So that practically we have the responsibility for 
the government of the Philippines, but the Filipinos themselves are 
governing themselves. Is that a fair statement? 

Mr. Quezon. That has been done during these three years. 

Mr. Knutson. Mr. Quezon, how many vetoes have Presidents of 
the United States made ? 

Mr. Quezon. Not one. 

Mr. Knutson. Are you absolutely sure in your own mind that you 
could establish a stable form of government if you were given com¬ 
plete independence? 

Mr. Quezon. Absolutely. 

Mr. Knutson. You have two political parties in the Philippines? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Knutson. What is their relative strength? 

Mr. Quezon. Their relative strength as shown in the last election 
was rather one-sided. In the senate they had no representative and 
in the house they had about 15 out of 92. 

Mr. Knutson. What do the two parties stand for ? 

Mr. Quezon. I shall have to give you a little history of the political 
parties in the Philippines for you to understand my answer to your 
question. 

Upon the establishment of the American sovereignty in the Philip¬ 
pine Islands there were attempts at organization of the Nacionalista 
Party. The Nacionalista Party always has stood for the independ¬ 
ence of the Philippines. Mr. Taft thought it was unwise at that 
time to have the Filipinos organize this party until the war was 
absolutely over and the people have forgotten it, and so the Nacion¬ 
alista Party was not organized in the beginning of the American 
occupation.* Instead, another party was organized, we may say, 
under the auspices of the Government. This was called the Federal 
Party. 

The Chairman. Mr. Quezon, will you allow me to interrupt you 
at this moment? It will be necessary, according to the promise made 
to the Senators and Representatives, that we adjourn at this time 
so that the Members may get to their respective Houses upon the 
opening of the session. The hearing will be adjourned until 2 o’clock 
this afternoon. I hope we will have as large an attendance of 
Senators and Members of the House as possible. 

122031—19-2 


18 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Mr. Knutson. I do not expect to be here this afternoon, Mr. Chair¬ 
man, and I would like to ask just one question; he can answer it in 
one word. 

Are both political parties in complete accord in this request for 
independence? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir. The other party is here represented by Mr. 
Tirona, who is president of his party and its leader in the house of 
representatives. 

(Thereupon, at 12 o’clock noon, the committee recessed until 2 
o’clock p. m. this day.) 


MONDAY, AFTER RECESS. 

The committee met at 2 o’clock p. m., Hon. Horace M. Towner 
(chairman) presiding. 

The following members of the Senate Committee on the Philip¬ 
pines were also present: Senators Warren G. Harding (chairman), 
Fletcher, Phelan, and Beckham. 

Mr. Towner. The sittings of the joint committee will be resumed. 
The reporter will note that this is a continuation of hearings already 
held. 

Mr. Quezon. Mr. Chairman, unless the committee desires to ask 
other questions of me, I shall at this time request that I may be 
allowed to present the memorial which I have referred to, the joint 
resolution of the legislature, and the instructions of the independence 
commission. 

Mr. Towner. Do you ask that the memorial should be read, and 
also the resolutions, at this time, before the committee ? 

Mr. Quezon. It is too long, Mr. Chairman. It would take too 
much time. 

Mr. Towner. I was thinking that it would take up too much time, 
probably. 

Mr. Quezon. I will just make it a part of my remarks. 

Mr. Towner. Will you hand a copy of it to the reporter ? 

Mr. Quezon. I will do that. 

(Documents referred to are inserted as Appendixes A, B, and C.) 

Mr. Towner. The record heretofore has shown, Mr. Reporter, that 
the memorial adopted by the legislature of the Philippine Islands 
was offered by Mr. Quezon and was ordered to be printed in the 
record. The record also shows that the resolutions of instruction 
passed by the Philippine Legislature to the commission were ordered 
to be made a part of the record and printed. 

Mr. Quezon. If the committee is through with me I should like to 
present'the Hon. Rafael Palma. He is secretary of the interior of 
the Philippine Government. As secretary of the interior he is in 
charge of the provincial and municipal governments all over the 
Archipelago. He is also in charge of the so-called uncivilized tribes 
of the Philippines. Secretary Palma has been a member of the 
Philippine Commission from 1908 until 1915, when the Philippine 
Commission was abolished. After that time, when the Senate was 
inaugurated, Mr. Palma was elected senator. He is also secretary 
of the interior. He can give the committee all the information re¬ 
garding the government of the Philippines. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


19 


(Senator Harding, chairman of the Senate Committee on the 
Philippines, entered the room, and was called by Representative 
Towner to preside.) 

STATEMENT OF MR. RAFAEL PALMA. 

Mr. Palma. I am ready to give any information that the com¬ 
mittee may desire about the Philippines. Mr. Quezon has asked me 
to give the committee some idea about the way in which the gov¬ 
ernment has been instituted upon the enactment of the Jones law. 
We have made certain changes in the organization of our insular 
government. The Philippine Legislature, while recognizing that 
the Jones law provided for a complete system of government, has 
tried to improve that system by the introduction of certain parlia¬ 
mentary features. So when they enacted a law reorganizing the in¬ 
sular government they adopted, to a certain extent, the parlia¬ 
mentary system, and gave to either of the two houses of the legis¬ 
lature the power to call upon the secretaries of departments or mem¬ 
bers of the cabinet for information in aid of legislation. On the 
the other hand, the secretaries of departments can also demand a 
hearing before either one of the two houses of the legislature concern¬ 
ing matters affecting their departments. Under that system there 
seems to be greater harmony in the relations between the executive 
and the legislative branches of the government. 

Instead of an indefinite tenure the law has also provided that the 
secretaries of departments should hold their offices for the term of 
three years only. The object of this provision is to give to the 
cabinet that political complexion demanded by the results of the 
elections. The law gives to the Governor General the power to ap¬ 
point new secretaries in accordance with any change of opinion as 
reflected by the general election. The legislature has also intro¬ 
duced the budget system into the financial operations of the govern¬ 
ment. In brief, we have adopted most of the reforms advocated by 
constitutional writers in this country. We are not sorry to have 
adopted those reforms in our legislation, because the results have 
full}- justified the step. 

Now our government is politically divided into 45 regular Prov¬ 
inces and 12 special Provinces; and these Provinces, in turn, are sub¬ 
divided into what are called municipalities and townships. 

Senator Fletcher. Those special Provinces correspond to dis¬ 
tricts? 

Mr. Palma. No; they correspond to the degree of civilization of 
the people inhabiting those Provinces. The regular Provinces are 
entirely self-supporting, while the special Provinces are not self- 
supporting and the insular government has to give them some finan¬ 
cial aid every year. 

Senator Fletcher. Under the act, the Philippine Islands are 
divided into 12 districts. I thought they were the same as Provinces. 

Mr. Palma. Yes; they are electoral divisions. For political pur¬ 
poses, for certain purposes, they are divided into municipalities. In 
the last few years some of the portions of the regular Provinces have 
been instituted into independent Provinces. As we have adopted 
the rule that we can not separate any part of a regular Province 


20 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


and make a Province of it until it can financially support itself, that 
shows that when the insular government allows a certain portion of 
a Province to be made into an independent Province those people 
have made economic progress so that they are allowed to live in¬ 
dependently. 

Mr. Garrett. How many of them did you say there are? 

Mr. Palma. In the last two years we have made three Provinces 
out of portions separated from the other Provinces. 

Mr. Towner. I believe that you have your election to-morrow? 

Mr. Palma. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Towner. Will you explain to the committee just what that 
is and what will be done to-morrow in that general election? 

Mr. Palma. The general idea that I can give to the committee is 
this, that during these 60 days before the election the registration 
takes place in all places in the Philippine Islands. Both parties 
probably have elected during these 60 days their board of inspectors, 
in which both parties are represented. The party which got a ma¬ 
jority in the last election, of course, is entitled to two inspectors 
and the minority party has one inspector. 

Mr. Towner. What officers are to be elected? 

Mr. Palma. The people are to elect municipal officers; that is to 
say, the president, the vice president, and councillors for each town. 
They are to elect also all provincial officers, composed of a provincial 
governor and two elective members. Those three compose the pro¬ 
vincial board. They have to elect also the representatives in the 
Philippine Assembly and half of the members of the senate, to take 
the place of those whose terms expire. 

Mr. Towner. All of the assembly and half of the senate? 

Mr. Palma. And half of the senate; yes, sir. 

Senator Fletcher. What is the plan of balloting; is it a secret 
ballot? 

Mr. Palma. It is a secret ballot. Each elector goes into an apart¬ 
ment—into one cell—to write the names of those for whom he 
elects, and he is supposed to be given a ballot before he enters the 
cell. Those who are not able to write, from some physical defect 
or by not knowing how to write, can ask one of the inspectors, in 
the presence of the other two, to write for them the names of those 
officers for whom they wish to vote. 

Mr. Towner. Are not the names of the candidates printed on the 
ballots ? 

Mr. Palma. No, sir. The ballot is given in blank. 

Mr. Towner. Are any of them printed ? 

Mr. Palma. They are printed; the positions are printed on them. 

Mr. Towner. Yes; but are there any nominations for officers be¬ 
fore the elections by the various parties? 

Mr. Palma. Well, they nominate their candidates, of course, just 
as they do here. 

Mr. Towner. Are not the names of those candidates printed on 
the ballots ? 

Mr. Palma. No, sir. 

Mr. Towner. Do you have any preliminary campaign? 

Mr. Palma. Do you mean like the primary election in the United 
States ? 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


21 


i\Ir. Towner. No; not a primary, but a preliminary campaign, in 
'which the men go around and make speeches and tell the people what 
they ought to do. 

Mr. Palma. Oh, yes; certainly, sir, they do that. 

Mr. Towner. Has that campaign been carried on generally this 
election over the islands ? 

Mr. Palma. Certainly. For six months before the election takes 
place those men go out. 

Mr. Towner. Are those campaigns carried on with a good deal 
of vigor and interest on the part of the people? Do they take a 
great deal of interest in them ? 

Mr. Palma. Yes, sir; everybody takes a good deal of interest in 
those elections. 

Mr. Towner. Are the meetings that are addressed by the speakers 
pretty well attended by the people ? 

Mr. Palma. Certainly, sir; yes. 

Mr. Towner. What proportion of the electorate do you expect will 
vote at this election to-morrow ? 

Mr. Palma. This will probably be the biggest election in the Phil¬ 
ippine Islands. It will give to all those who are over 21 years of age 
the right to vote; that is, at the present time they have the right to 
vote. Of course, that would include many of our youngest men, who 
are going to the public schools now. Probably the vote will be 
double what it was formerly. 

Mr. Towner. Do you expect a large vote? 

Mr. Palma. Yes, sir; very large. It will be quite double the old 
number. I assume. 

Mr. Towner. This is the thought that I had in mind, and I would 
like to have you give some expression in regard to it. Of course, the 
nationalistic party is very strongly the dominant party in the Is¬ 
lands ? 

Mr. Palma. The best part of it; yes, sir. 

Mr. Towner. Ordinarily, when a party is strong here in the 
States so that the minority party does not have very much chance 
of success, there is a light vote. Is that the condition that exists 
also in the Philippine Islands? 

Mr. Palma. No, sir; the people realize the importance of electing 
their officers in the Philippine Islands, because they are interested 
in electing municipal officers during a general election, and, of course, 
those who can vote are interested in voting, and go to the polls at the 
time of the election. 

Mr. Towner. Take it, for instance, where a Senator is to be elected 
in a strongly nationalistic district; is there a pretty strong contest 
between the various nationalistic candidates for that office? 

Mr. Palma. Sometimes it happens that there are two or more 
candidates of the same party. 

Mr. Towner. How do you decide between them? 

Mr. Palma. The people decide that by the election. 

Mr. Towner. But 1iow t - 

Mr. Palma. The leaders of the party try to persuade them to 
compromise and have one candidate only, but if they fail, then both 
men run for election. 


22 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Mr. Towner. How do you decide as between two or three candi¬ 
dates; do you have a convention, as we call it in the States, or do 
you have a primary ? 

Mr. Palma. No, sir; just in a private way the leaders of the party 
try to convince those men—one of them—to withdraw. 

Senator Beckham. How do the people accept the results of those 
elections, Mr. Secretary? Are they generally satisfied in accepting 
them as final and binding? 

Mr. Palma. In most of the places that is the case. Sometimes the 
defeated candidate will have a contested election before the courts. 
Those cases are not very numerous. 

Senator Beckham. Their disposition is to go to the courts if there 
is any question? 

Mr. Palma. It has been in the past. 

Senator Beckham. My idea is that one of the fairest and strongest 
tests of the capacity of a people for elective government is the readi¬ 
ness of the minority to accept the result of the contest. They may 
have just as much heat and excitement during the height of the cam¬ 
paign as we have here, but our success here is due to the fact, I think, 
that the defeated party accept the result as final and binding. 

Mr. Palma. In the last election, out of 45 provinces I think the 
provincial elections were contested in only 5 or 6 cases. 

Mr. Fairfield. What is the greatest total vote ever cast in the 
Philippines at any election ? 

Mr. Palma. I am not sure of the exact figure; about 600,000 or 
700,000. 

Mr. Fairfield. What is your total number of voters? How many 
people in the islands have the right of voting? 

Mr. Palma. I think about 300,000. They have corrected me on 
that—300,000 voted. 

Mr. Fairfield. About 300,000? 

Mr. Palma. Yes; have actually voted. 

Mr. Fairfield. Have actually voted? 

Mr. Palma. Yes; have actually voted. 

Mr. Fairfield. How many could have voted under your laws? 

Mr. Palma. Of course, our old laws only allowed to vote those who 
were 23 years of age and had 30 pesos or $15 yearly or who knew 
how to write or speak English or Spanish. That was the old law. 

The new law changed that by allowing all men 21 years of age to 
vote, and probably that will result in doubling the number of people 
who can vote now. 

Mr. Fairfield. Is this new law simply manhood suffrage, or has it 
limitations upon it? 

Mr. Palma. They allow also to vote those who can write or speak 
English or a native dialect. There is another change from the old 
law. They add new qualifications. They reduce the age and they 
reduce the qualifications so as to include those who can write a native 
dialect. 

Mr. Fairfield. How many people are there in the islands, all told, 
over the age of 21 years? 

Mr. Palma. I can not give you the exact figure on that. Have 
you any idea of that ? 

Mr. Quezon. No; but there are now 700,000 voters. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 23 

Mr. Fairfield. So that about one-lialf of your people have exer¬ 
cised the right of suffrage? 

Mr. Palma. Yes. That is, you mean to say- 

Mr. Fairfield. As compared with such right as exercised in the 
United States? 

Mr. Palma. Well, there were, actually voting, about 300,000 people. 

Senator Fletcher. Do they vote in all the Provinces? 

Mr. Palma. Except in the special Provinces. In some special 
Provinces, or in the territory inhabited by the Igorrotes and other 
non-Christian population, they still do not vote, according to the 
law; but as soon as conditions progress the law itself provides that 
they can be allowed to vote as soon as conditions are suitable for 
those people. 

Mr. Fairfield. With your permission, do you, in the islands, recog¬ 
nize that there is a certain percentage of the population of the islands 
that are as yet uncivilized? 

Mr. Palma. Yes, sir; uncivilized. 

Mr. Fairfield. Could you give any approximate idea of the num¬ 
ber of those people? 

Mr. Palma. According to the available data of the last census, 
there are about 500,000 out of a population of 10,000,000. 

Mr. Towner. Does that mean 500,000 persons? 

Mr. Palma. What we call the non-Christian tribes. 

Mr. Towner. Does that mean 500,000 persons or 500,000 males not 
voting ? 

Mr. Palma. Oh, persons, sir. 

Mr. Fairfield. You have reasons, of course, for not printing the 
names of the candidates upon the ballots. Would it be too much 
to ask you to explain why that is not done in your country? We 
have found it apparently necessary to do so here. 

Mr. Palma. It is only due to the fact that the organization of 
the parties is not so perfect there, so that they could not prevent 
two men of the same party from running for office. Of course, we 
try to see that there is only one candidate for one party, but some¬ 
times we can not—we fail to accomplish our purpose—so that they 
have to run. 

Senator Fletciier. Is it not a sort of an educational test that you 
want to bring into effect, anyhow—a test of their qualification to 
vote ? 

Mr. Palma. I do not catch the question, Senator. 

Senator Fletcher. I say the reason for that is partly due to your 
view that there ought to be a standard educational test of the voter 
requiring him to write the name.. 

Mr. Palma. Well, that is true in a way, also. I do not know what 
was the reason, but the present electoral law was. framed by the 
Philippine Commission, and we just kept the provision as it is now. 
It is supposed to be for the purpose of allowing men to write it. 

Mr. Towner. Are there any changes that you would suggest in 
the qualifications of voters or in the law regarding the elections gen¬ 
erally that have occurred to you under the practical operations of 
the law ? 

Mr. Palma. It does not appear to me to need any change for the 
present. It seeijis to me it is best for us to try first what would be 


24 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


the result of this Jones law. This is the first time that we are going 
to apply the Jones law, so far as new voters are concerned. 

Mr. Hersey. What proportion of your voters can read and write? 

Mr. Palma. What proportion? 

Mr. Hersey. Yes. 

Mr. Palma. I would say about 80 per cent. 

Mr. Hersey. Eighty per cent? 

Mr. Palma. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Quezon. Oh, no; it is 95 per cent. 

Mr. Palma. I am corrected by Mr. Quezon, who says it is more 
than 80 per cent. 

Mr. Fairfield. What proportion of them read and write English ? 
How many of the voters can read and write English? 

Mr. Palma. Under the old electorate there was a small proportion, 
but under this new electorate I suppose this proportion would in¬ 
crease greatly. 

Mr. Fairfield. These voters were, of course, necessarily made up 
of men who had learned Spanish in their youth and who did not 
care to change into English, or, perhaps, were unable to do so ? 

Mr. Palma. Yes; there are many persons who could write and 
speak the English language under the old electorate, too; but what I 
say is that the number of those will increase very greatly now under 
the conditions of the new law. 

Senator Fletcher. What are you doing toward bringing into a 
state of civilization, if you may call it that, of those 500,000 who 
are uncivilized ? Are they in any way amenable to the government ? 
Are they willing to come under the government and under your 
control and jurisdiction, and what are you doing to bring them in? 

Mr. Palma. Yes, sir; the government, since the outset of the 
American occupation, has established the policy of bettering the con¬ 
ditions of those people, and the Philippine Legislature, since the 
establishment of the new government, has pursued the same policy 
and provided more liberally funds for establishing schools and dis¬ 
pensaries in those Provinces; so that it seems that the progress will 
continue to grow every year in those Provinces. They can be assimi¬ 
lated, I suppose, in 10 or 15 years. They can be entirely assimilated 
when their children in the public schools now grow. 

Senator Fletcher. Are they disposed to accept those conditions? 

Mr. Palma. At the present time, entirely disposed to; yes. Of 
course, in the beginning there was hostility, but there is now a condi¬ 
tion of perfect peace and order in those provinces, and those people 
realize the advantages of public education, and they send all their 
children to the schools. 

Mr. Garrett.— There has been no friction between these people 
you speak of, the Moros—you speak of the Moros ? 

Mr. Palma. No. 

Mr. Garrett. You speak of the Moro people? 

Mr. Palma. I speak of those inhabitants composed of pagans and 
Moros. 

Mr. Garrett. There has been no friction between them for the last 
three or four years ? 

Mr. Palma. No, sir. The Moros are assisting the Philippine Gov¬ 
ernment in every way, because they see, and they want now to get, 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


25 


the benefit of the schools. They are ready to support the Govern¬ 
ment. 

Mr. Fairfield. With your permission, again: Did I understand 
you a little while ago to say that the voters were required to pay a 
tax of $15 before they were permitted to vote ? 

Mr. Palma. That is one of the qualifications. 

Mr. Fairfield. That is one of the qualifications. No man can 
vote unless he pays that tax ? 

Mr. Palma. Any man who can write and speak English can 
vote also, even if he does not pay this $15. 

Senator Harding. I would suggest that, in view of the fact that 
the committee has the law available, the witness go ahead with the 
statement that he wants to make, and I think it will save time, if he 
does so, and then if we have any interruptions to make, we can take 
them up later. 

Mr. Palma. I want to add to my statement that the condition of 
public order and safety during all the time since the establishment 
of the autonomous government has been satisfactory, even in those 
territories inhabited by Moros. I have the testimony of Col. Waloe— 
who is the chief of constabulary of Mindanao and Sulu—submitted 
to the secretary of the interior, which showed that. He made a mem¬ 
orandum on November 23, 1918, and this memorandum in part read 
as follows: 

For the last four years the number of grave crimes occurring in the Province 
of Zamboanga have been less than those in the department’s most advanced 
Christian Province for the same period. 

For the years 1908-1909, 37 outlaws were reported killed, captured, and 
wounded; for 1910-1911. 28; for 1912-1913, 40; for 1914, 23; for 1915, 1; and 
for 1916-1917, none. This great change from a spirit of outlawry and piracy, 
coming down from the Spanish regime, to peace and industry, was brougnt 
about almost entirely by the sympathetic attitude and friendly interest of the 
department government toward the Moros and pagan tribes of the Province 
Force without limit had been used for 300 years, but apparently with little, if 
any, permanent results. 

The Moro is no more the blood-thirsty religious fanatic of a few years ago, 
but is aiding us to a remarkable degree in maintaining law and order. In 
fact our success in dealing with Moro outlaws has been due almost entirely to 
the loyal support and aid we have received from the great majority of the 
inhabitants of the districts affected. The Moro is industrious and a gooa 
farmer to the extent of his agricultural knowledge. Hfe is beginning to see 
the advantages of education, to have respect for his Christian brother and be 
more tolerant in his religious views. He is, however, proud of his history and 
loyal to his religion, but commerce and education are rapidly widening his 
horizon. 

I do not think I have any more to add to my statement, unless some 
of the members of the committee want to ask questions. 

Mr. Towner. Mr. Secretary, what progress has been made in reach¬ 
ing the Negritos? 

Mr. Palma. The Negritos are inhabiting some of the Provinces 
near Manila. About two years ago there was appointed a superin¬ 
tendent to look after their welfare. About a year and a half ago 
there were some disturbances in Zambalez, but since the appointment 
of this superintendent the Negritos have become peaceable again. 
We are trying to persuade them to live in what we call a settlement, 
to establish themselves together there. We opened a public school 
for them, and we provided^a sort of exchange where they can sell the 


26 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


wild products that they gather, and where they can buy everything 
they need. This policy has resulted in great benefit. We have had 
no disturbance. It seems that the superintendent was successful in 
his work. That is, as to the Negritos. So far as the non-Christian 
inhabitants of the other Provinces are concerned, we pursue the same 
policy of operations. In my last visit, about a year ago, I saw these 
schools throughout those Provinces, and the least number of pupils 
that I saw in one of those schools is about 120. They have two grades 
in the schools, and the teacher at that time told me that they were 
going to establish the fifth grade primary schools. That shows that 
educational progress is going on. The Department of Mindanao 
reports, and I have some statistics here- 

Senator Harding. I suggest that you hand your statistics to the 
stenographer, and have them put in the hearing as a part of your 
presentation. 

Mr. Palma. Very well, sir. In the mountain Province, for in¬ 
stance, in 1912 the number of teachers was 93. The number of 
teachers at the present time is 251. The number of teachers in Viz¬ 
caya, which is one of the special Provinces, was 64 in 1912, and they 
have now about 97 teachers. The number of teachers in the Provinces 
of Mindanao and Sulu was 190, and at present there are about 783 
teachers assigned to that department. 

Senator Harding. I think it would be well to have any statement 
of that sort you wish go into the record, and any others you wish to 
go with your remarks handed to the secretary, so that they might be 
incorporated in the record. 

(A statement submitted by Mr. Palma is here printed in the record, 
as follows:) 

Recent Policy Toward the Non-Christian People of the Philippines. 

[By Maximo M. Kalaw, assistant professor of political science, University of the 

Philippines.] 

J One of the strongest objections to the independence of the Philippines has 
been the so-called non-Christian problem. According to the census estimate of 
1918, out of the population of 10,500,000 Filipinos there are 500,000 inhabitants 
who belong to the so-called non-Christian tribes. The most numerous of these 
non-Christian people are the Moros, who inhabit the Sulu Archipelago and cer¬ 
tain parts of Mindanao. The mountain Province and Nueva Vizcaya, in Luzon, 
contain also non-Christian people. It was predicted that with the establish¬ 
ment of Philippine autonomy these Moros would revive their piratical life and 
war on their Christian brothers. 

Unlike the backward peoples in other parts of the globe, the non-Christian 
peoples of the Philippines have always received humanitarian treatment from 
the American Government as well as from their Christian brothers. From 1913 
to 1916 the non-Christian peoples were under the exclusive control and juris¬ 
diction of the Philippine Commission, composed of a majority of Filipinos. 
Since the passage of the Jones law in 1916 the Philippine Legislature, composed 
entirely of Filipinos, assumed legislative control of the non-Christian tribes. 
Since 1913, therefore, the representatives of the Christian Filipinos have dic¬ 
tated the policy pursued toward their non-Christian brothers, and a review of 
what has been done since that time would give us an insight as to our treat¬ 
ment of the problem. 

The Philippine Commission and the Philippine Legislature have expressed 
unequivocally by appropriate legislation their policy toward the non-Christian 
peoples. Such a policy has for its fundamental objective the establishment and 
promotion of friendly relations with the non-Christian people of the Philippine 
Islands and the promotion of their agricultural, industrial, and economic de- 



PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 27 

velopment and their advancement in civilization. (See, among others, acts 
Nos. 2208, 2404, and 2444.) 

Upon the establishment of the bureau of non-Christian tribes by section 22 
of the Jones law, the Philippine Legislature on February 20, 1917, enacted 
act No. 2674, providing for the operation of said bureau. That law defines in 
a clear and unequivocal term the policy of the government toward the non- 
Christian people as follows: 

“ * * * to foster by all adequate means and in a systematic, rapid, and 

complete manner the moral, material, economic, social, and political develop¬ 
ment of the regions inhabited by non-Christian Filipinos, always having in 
view the aim of rendering permanent the mutual intelligence between and 
complete fusion of all the Christian and non-Christian elements populating 
the Provinces of the archipelago.” 

The secretary of the interior, who is the official charged with the super¬ 
vision and control over all the non-Christian people, has, consistently with 
law, adopted the following program of administration with regard to those 
people: 

“ The advancement of the non-Christian elements of our population to equal¬ 
ity and unification with the highly civilized Christian inhabitants. This is 
carried on by the adoption of the following measures: 

“ («•) Pursuance of the closer-settlement policy whereby people of semi- 
nomadic race are induced to leave their wild habitat and settle in organized 
communities. 

“ (b) The extension to the public-school system and the system of public 
health throughout the regions inhabited by the non-Christian people. 

“(c) The extension of public works throughout the Mohammedan regions to 
facilitate their development and the extension of Government control. 

“(d) Construction of road and trails between one place and another among 
non-Christians to promote social and commercial intercourse and maintain 
amicable relations among them and with the Christian people. 

“(e) Pursuance of the development of natural economic resources, especially 
agriculture. 

“(; f) The encouragement of immigration into, and of the investment of 
private capital in, the fertile regions of Mindanao and Sulu.” 

The foregoing program is for all non-Christians in every part of the Philip¬ 
pines. In 1914 the United States military forces ceased to control the parts of 
Mindanao and Sulu inhabited by the non-Christians, and these were then 
created into the Department of Mindanao and Sulu under a civil governor. 
Philippine constabulary soldiers, composed mostly of Filipinos, were sent down 
to keep order. But soldiers are not the main factors of the policy of the civil 
government. With them went Filipino teachers, doctors, and nurses to preach, 
in words as well as in deeds, the gospel of brotherhood and civilization. The 
non-Christian peoples are now being taught and guided to improve their living 
conditions in order that they may fully appreciate the benefits of civilization. 
Those of them who are still given to nomadic habits are being persuaded to 
abandon their wild habitat and settle in organized settlements. They are 
being made to understand that it is the purpose of the Government to organize 
them politically into fixed and permanent communities, aid them to live and 
work, protect them from involuntary servitude and abuse, educate their chil¬ 
dren, and show them the advantages of leading a civilized life on a par with 
their more civilized brothers. 

To assure the success of the work, the organization and extension of public 
schools throughout the non-Christian territory has been given special emphasis. 
Among the Moros of Mindanao and Sulu, as in other parts of the islands, the 
first instruction in the English language was given by American soldiers detailed 
as teachers. The Army foresaw the advantages of public schools from a mili¬ 
tary viewpoint. As early as 1903 primary schools were organized in a few of 
the principal villages, where Arabic and English were taught. However, in 
view of the newness of the idea and the distrust of the Moros and other non- 
Christians, very little progress was made in establishing and maintaining public 
schools. At tiie end of the school year 1903-4 they had an attendance of 
only 1,582 pupils, and by 1913, at the end of the military rule in Mindanao and 
Sulu, there was an attendance of only 4,535. The last five years, in which the 
Filipinos controlled the legislative policy toward the Moros, the educational 
progress has been tremendous. The following figures show the average daily 


28 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


attendance and the expenditures for public education for the Moro Provinces 
from 1912 to the present time: 


Fiscal year. 

Average 

daily 

attendance. 

Expendi¬ 

tures. 

1912. . 

3,807 
4,535 
16,114 

T 93,987 

1913 . . . 

137,069 
i 650,000 

1918. . . 




i Estimate. 


Act 2531, passed by the Philippine Legislature under date of October 26, 1915, 
gave great impetus to educational work in the non-Christian Provinces. This 
act appropriated the sum of 1,000,000 pesos for expenses of the bureau of 
education necessary for the construction, establishment, organization, and 
operation of additional free insular primary schools in the territory inhabited 
by Mohammedans or other non-Christian Filipinos, and to make the necessary 
provisions for normal training of teachers for said primary schools. This 
fund was allotted in proportion to the school population, and was used for the 
purchase of sites, construction of buildings, purchase of equipment, and for 
current expenses such as salaries and supplies. This million pesos was a 
direct contribution of the Chritian population to their non-Christian brothers; 
for our non-Christian population is far from being self-supporting, and mil¬ 
lions of pesos have to be taken every year from the pockets of the Christian 
people for the uplift of their backward brothers. This fact must not be lost 
sight of in the discussion of the non-Christian problem. 

Special effort has been made to so frame the courses of study that they may 
meet the peculiar needs of each of the non-Christian people. Settlement farm 
schools have been established to meet the particular needs of more or less 
nomadic tribes. Boarding schools are established wherever economic condi¬ 
tions demand it. It has been found that the only practical way to reach the 
non-Christian girls is through dormitory schools. Loom weaving is being taught 
to girls in a few schools. The industrial work prescribed for these people, 
however, has been limited very largely to agriculture for boys and plain 
sewing for girls. 

The number of teachers in the Mountain Province in 1912 was 93. The 
number of teachers assigned to this work at the present time is 251. The 
number of teachers in Nueva Vizcaya in 1912 was 64. At the present time 
there are 87 teachers on duty there. The number of teachers in the depart¬ 
ment of Mindanao and Sulu in 1912 was 99. At present there are 783 teachers 
assigned to this department. A great many of these teachers have come 
from the Central Luzon Agricultural School, but almost every Province in the 
Philippine Islands is represented. The willingness of these teachers to leave 
their homes and take up work in the non-Christian Provinces is a significant 
development in education and in the problem of final unification and nationali¬ 
zation of the people of the Philippines. During the past year the attendance in 
the non-Christian Provinces has almost doubled. The schools in the northern 
part of Luzon and also in Mindanao are fitting boys for farm work by giving 
them a fundamental knowledge of agriculture and by teaching them how to 
work. Girls are taught plain sewing so that they may provide their own 
clothes, and weaving and other minor industries so that they may earn a 
livelihood. 

Side by side with the extension of the public schools is the extension of the 
public health service. In 1914 the health and school authorities of the De¬ 
partment of Mindanao and Sulu undertook the establishment of combination 
schools and dispensaries. These institutions, 17 of which have already 
been established, are in charge of the School of Nursing of the University of 
the Philippines. The salaries of the teachers in these combined institutions 
fire paid in equal parts from health and school funds. These institutions are 
for the most part located in remote communities and make a strong appeal to 
the non-Christian people. Approximately 30,000 children are treated each 
year in these dispensaries. In addition to the school dispensaries mentioned 
above, there are nine special dispensaries maintained wholly by the school 











PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


29 


department. The teachers in charge of these dispensaries receive a course 
of instruction in dispensary work at the normal institutes. In order to train 
teachers for this work, a graduate nurse has been assigned to the Zamboanga 
Normal School where she is conducting a course for students who are preparing 
themselves to become teachers. In this connection it must be said that kind 
treatment and modern medicine have proven greater civilizing factors than 
bayonets and krags. The most prominent citizen of the Moro people, Senator 
Hadji Butu, tells how a physician, Dr. Sixto Orosa, has won the affection of 
his people. He says, “ All the Moros like him; many come from the moun¬ 
tains to ask medicine from him. Before he came they were afraid to drink 
hospital medicine and to stay in the hospital. But now they have proved that 
Dr. Orosa’s medicines cure quickly and his operations are not painful and 
the wounds heal in a short time, so they have full confidence in him. All 
the Datos and chiefs of Sulu want Dr. Orosa to stay in Jolo all the time, as 
they regard him with positive affection.” 

Of no less importance than the public health work is the extension of public 
works throughout the Mohammedan, Pagan and other non-Christian regions 
to facilitate their development and the extension of government control. 
This was a new policy, for during the time that the military authorities con¬ 
trolled Mindanao and Sulu no permanent road construction of any kind was 
done, with the exception of the road from Camp Overton to Camp Keithley 
in Lanao and connecting the town of Zamboanga with the San Ramon penal 
colony. As soon as the Christian Filipinos gained control of the legislature a 
vigorous policy of extending the public works throughout the non-Christian 
parts of the islands was begun. 

Special attention was given to the construction and maintenance of roads 
and trails, the improvement of ports and landing facilities, the extension and 
maintenance of telephone lines and a portable water supply, the removal of 
obstacles to navigation of rivers, and the construction and maintenance of 
public buildings, especially schools and hospitals. The sub-Provinces of Agusan, 
Bukidnon, Cotabato, Davao, Lanoa, Sulu, and Zamboango of the Department 
of Mindanao and Sulu are all receiving the benefits of this public-works pro¬ 
gram. It will be only a question of time when they will have just as good 
roads as the parts inhabited by the Christian Filipinos. 

Then we have activities in connection with the natural resources of the non- 
Christian parts. Graduates of the College of Agriculture are yearly being sent 
in numbers to teach the Moro people the modern methods of farming. A 
policy of immigration has been undertaken whereby Christian citizens from 
the densely populated parts of the islands may. with Government help, immi¬ 
grate to the fields of Mindanao and Sulu and establish themselves side by side 
with the non-Christian brothers. For the year 1917 the Philippine Legislature 
appropriated 100,000 pesos “ for aid to such inhabitants of the Provinces of 
Luzon and the Visayas as may desire to settle in Mindanao and Sulu, either 
in order to take advantage of the public-land act by purchasing public land 
or acquiring the same under the homestead provisions of said act, or for the 
purpose of taking employment as laborers on private plantations or public 
works, including propaganda and transportation expenses.” The object of 
these agricultural colonies was not only the development of the vast fileds 
that have not yet been touched by the hand of man, but also the amalgamation 
of Christian and Mohammedan Filipinos. In laying out the plans of these 
colonies the Government saw to it that a Christian Filipino had a Moro for 
a neighbor. This arrangement was predicted by some as dangerous and ill- 
advised, but the undertaking is now considered a success even by those who 
were at first most pessimistic and adverse, opponents of the plan. Once more 
it was proven that Moros and Christian Filipinos can live harmoniously 
together, for they are in truth citizens of one country and members of one race. 

But possibly the most difficult task of the government has been the separa¬ 
tion of church and State in the Moro country and the relinquishment of civil 
authority by the native chiefs in favor of the agents of the central govern- 
nent. In no other Mohammedan country has this ever been attempted. From 
rme immemorial governmental authority has been exercised by the prelates 
and clergy of the Mohammedan Church in Sulu, Cotabato, Lanao, a large part 
o: Zamboanga, and in those portions of the Provinces of Bukidnon and Davao 
wlich are inhabited by Mohammedans. Naturally, every feature of the exten¬ 
sion of government control, with its consequent tendency to reduce the au- 


30 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


thority and perquisites of the Mohammedan clergy and their patrons, the 
datus, is always made the subject of petition and oral protests, oftentimes 
couched in the most vigorous and insistent terms, by the people to the authori¬ 
ties. The separation of church and State, always a complex and delicate 
undertaking, is a specially difficult matter requiring the exercise of the utmost 
patience and tact by local officials in our Mohammedan territory. The activi¬ 
ties of government control, such as the public-land surveys and the implanta¬ 
tion of the system of taxation, which are new to our Mohammedan territories, 
arouse suspicion as to their ulterior objectives. 

Yet, despite these serious obstacles, ' which mitigated against the complete 
extension and recognition of government authority, the policy of the central 
government has been crowned with tremendous success. The Sultan of Sulu 
has formally renounced his claim to sovereignly over his Mohammedan sub¬ 
jects in favor of the civil government. Peace and public order have been kept 
in excellent condition, as elsewhere in the Archipelago.- s Col. Ole Waloe, com¬ 
manding the constabulary in the Department of Mindaf?J]0 and Sulu, in a 
brief memorandum to the department secretary, dated November 23, 1918, 
says: >.. 

“ 1. As late as 1885, the Spanish Government pardoned Datu Pe\ c } ro Cuevas 
and his gang of escaped convicts on condition that they protect tlieV town of 
Isabela, Basilan, from further attacks from the Joloano and Yakan Mo£ os » not> 
withstanding the place was at that time protected by an excellent fort, a 

“ 2. In 1904, this same Datu Cuevas wrote the governor that he had capit ure d 
three pirates and, after investigating them, had had them shot. x> 

“ 3. During 1908, no less than six different outlaw bands operated at varidffi 3 
times during the year on Basilan in such force and with such daring that it wi as 
necessary to send four companies of United States Infantry and two companies 
of constabulary to that island. 

“ 4. For the years 1908-9, 37 outlaws were reported killed, captured and 
wounded; for 1910-11, 28; for 1912-13, 40; for 1914, 23; for 1915, 1; and for 
1916-17, none. This great change from a spirit of outlawry and piracy, coming 
down from the Spanish regime, to peace and industry, was brought about almost 
entirely by the sympathetic attitude and friendly interest of the department 
government toward the Moros and Pagan tribes of the Province. Force with¬ 
out limit had been used for 300 years, but apparently with little, if any, 
permanent results. 

“ 5. For the last four years the number of grave crimes occurring in the 
Province of Zamboanga have been less than those in the department’s most ad¬ 
vanced Christian Province for the same period. 

“ 6. The Moro is no more the bloodthirsty religious fanatic of a few years 
ago, but is aiding us to a remarkable degree in maintaining law and order. 
In fact, our success in dealing with Moro outlaws has been due almost entirely 
to the loyal support and aid we have received from the great majority of the 
inhabitants of the districts affected. The Moro is industrious and a good far¬ 
mer to the extent of his agricultural knowledge. He is beginning to see the 
advantages of education, to have respect for his Christian brother, and be more 
tolerant in his religious views. He is, however, proud of his history and loyal 
to his religion, but commerce and education are rapidly widening his horizon. 

“ The juramentado is a thing of the past, while there has been only one 
amuck in the Province of Zamboanga during the last 18 years. This misguided 
being was probably suffering from an attack of temporary insanity, as he 
imagined that his mother-in-law had administered poison in his food; after 
brooding over the matter a few days he decided to commit suicide in the old 
Moro fashion, namely, by running amuck. 

“ Contrary to the prediction of the calamity howlers, the Christian Filipino 
officers of the constabulary have succeeded completely in winning the respect 
and confidence of the Moro. 

“ 7. The Pagan tribes of the Province, Subanos and Yakans, have never been 
head-hunters nor made human sacrifices. On the other hand, they have given 
very little trouble, except when led on by outstanding malcontents that took, 
refuge among them when pursued by the law. They are peaceable, industriou: 5 
farmers and hunters by nature, and, under the present system of governmenta 1 
supervision, are rapidly taking up homesteads and settling in the lowland' 18 * 
This, of course, is not only of great benefit to themselves, but simplifies t '^ 0 
problem of law and order and creates a supply of labor for the future develc d* 
ment of the country. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


31 


“ 8 - The practice of appointing constabulary officers deputy governors in 
Moro and Pagan districts lias not only greatly facilitated the maintenance of 
law and order in those sections, hut lias aided 11 s much in our efforts to get the 
Pagan tribes out of the hills and settled in villages in the lowlands. Further¬ 
more, concentration of authority is in line with their notions of government, 
and it is believed more completely meets their present needs.” 

The foregoing testimony of an American official is one of the most eloquent 
proofs of the success of our policy toward the non-Christian tribes. 

The .Tones law also brought a new era among the non-Christian people. For 
the first time they were given representation in the national legislature. Seven 
out of the 90 members of the lower house and 2 out of the 24 members of the 
Senate were to be appointed to represent the non-Christian peoples of the 
Islands. As a result of this arrangement, three prominent Moros and two 
Pagans received the appointment. The most conspicuous citizen of the Moro 
people, Hadji Hutu Baki, was appointed senator, and Datu Piang and Datu 
Benito were appointed representatives. Their appointment was received with 
great satisfaction by the Moro people, and for the first time in the history of 
the Philippine Islands the Mohammedan Filipinos sat side by side with the 
Christian Filipinos in the legislative halls to work out the destinies of their 
common country. Senator Butu and Representatives Benito and Piang were 
granted the special privilege of taking the oath of office on the Koran. This act 
of the senate and house of representatives was looked upon by the representa¬ 
tive Mohammedans present at the inauguration as assurance of an attitude of 
religious tolerance and respect on the part of the Christian Filipinos. It was 
not considered a mere courtesy, but rather a guaranty of noninterference in 
their religious affairs. 

Coincident with the inauguration of the Philippine Congress there were pre¬ 
sented significant memorials indicative of the feeling of confidence and love 
which the Moro people have for their Christian brothers. These memorials were 
addressed to both houses of the legislature, through the Governor General, 
signed by the Sultan of Sulu and the most important and influential Satus in 
the Sulu Archipelega, Cotabato and Lanao and Zamboanga Provinces, repre¬ 
senting all classes of Mohammedans in Mindanao-Sulu, expressing their grati¬ 
tude for material benefits and political privileges afforded Mohammedans during 
the past three years, and also for the liberal appropriations for public schools, 
health, and public works, and for the representation in both houses of the 
Philippine Legislature granted under the new organic act for the Philippine 
Government. . The memorials also expressed the hope that the administrations 
would continue to strengthen the existing close relations between all the people 
of the Philippine Islands. 1 

Such, in brief, has been our policy toward the non-Christian peoples. It is 
acknowledged by all unbiased observers as a decided success. It is an unprec¬ 
edented treatment of non-Christian peoples by their more civilized fellowman, 
who by sheer number, strength, and superior civilization could, under recog¬ 
nized practices, claim to be the sole owners of the country. You can now travel 
from one end of the Moro region to the other in safety. The schools have 
brought the standard of the Moro people nearer that of their Christian brothers. 
Teachers, doctors, and nurses from all over the islands have carried a message 
of friendship and love and have established more firmly the national solidarity 
of Christians and non-Christians than the severest policy of blood and iron 
could have done. The respect that the Christian Filipinos have shown toward 
the religion of the Moros has inspired them with renewed confidence. The 
participation that the Moro people were given in national law making has bound 
them closer still to the Christian Filipinos. “ We are one in spirit and one in 
blood,” says Senator Hadji Butu. 

Upon the establishment of the Philippine Republic the world will certainly 
find the non-Christian Filipinos as enthusiastic supporters of its independence 
as their Christian brothers. 

Mr. Quezon. I will call now Mr. V. Singson Enarnacion. 


1 From a recent report by Gov. Frank W. Carpenter, of the Department of Mindanao 
and Sulu. 




32 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


STATEMENT OF MR. V. SINGSON ENCARNACION. 

Senator Harding. Will you j ust proceed in your own way to make 
such statement as you would like the members of the committee to 
hear? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Since the American occupation of the Philip¬ 
pines the Filipinos have been accused of neglecting the economic de¬ 
velopment of the islands. This was because until past few years ago 
we have been devoting almost all of our energy and strength to the 
settlement of this question of the independence of the Philippine 
Islands; but when the people began to have confidence in the people 
of the Unitted States, then a great part of their attention was directed 
toward the economic development of the Philippines. Especially 
was this seen since the arrival of Governor General Harrison, when 
cleaHy the impression was made that the United States Government 
had the intention to prepare the Philippine Islands for its final in¬ 
dependence. Since that time until now we have made great progress. 

We progressed in every line; in agriculture, in industry, and com¬ 
mercial enterprise. One of our principal products is cane sugar. 
Several years ago we manufactured our sugar in the most primitive 
manner; but about four years ago we had already four big sugar 
centrals there, just like the big sugar centrals you have in Honolulu, 
and last year and this year they are building and are prepared to 
build other sugar centrals. 

In industry we also progressed, and you can size up our progress 
in industry when I tell you that in 1913 or 1914, about four years ago, 
we produced only about 6,000 tons of coconut oil, and now, after four 
years, we produce, according to the best available data, nearly 150,000 
tons of coconut oil. That is more than the people of the United States 
can use. 

In the last three or four years, also, we developed our hemp in¬ 
dustry. Now we are beginning to manufacture our own rope, and 
we begin to export our hemp converted into rope; and I heard from 
an engineer who has just come from the Philippine Islands that they 
are installing there two more factories of rope. In the manufacture 
of cigars we advanced slightly in the last four years. 

We also developed the Philippine National Bank, which began in 
1916 with about $6,000,000 of resources and at the end of 1918 arrived 
at $135,000,000. 

Our commerce, our foreign trade, has been increasing also. While 
in 1908, 10 years ago, our total foreign trade did not exceed $60,- 
000,000, in 1918, at the end of that year, our foreign trade amounted 
to $245,000,000. Naturally, with the economic development of the 
Philippine Islands, the revenue of our Government increased accord¬ 
ingly and the expenses of our government have increased accord¬ 
ingly. About three years ago our expenditure was, I think, not more 
than T=44,000,000, and that means $22,000,000 in gold. In 1918 it 
was P51,000,000, or nearly $26,000,000 in gold, and for the next year 
our expenditures will be #=77,000,000, or nearly $38,000,000 in gold. 

Our surplus naturally every year has been varying according to 
the differing circumstances of the year and the differing amount of 
expenditures of our government, so that in 1917 our surplus was 
$11,000,000 in gold, and in 1918 it was $60,000,000 gold, and perhaps 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


33 


at the end of this year we will have a little more. At least, we expect 
to have a little more surplus than the preceding year. I think that is 
the general condition that I can state to the committee. 

Senator Harding. You say your government income is millions in 
excess of your expenditures every year ? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Yes, sir; but I meant to say also that at the same 
time we carry over the excess of the preceding year. That is, suppose 
that in 1917 we have a surplus of a certain amount. Naturally we 
carry that into the next year. 

Senator Harding. I understand. 

Mr. Encarnacion. And we add it to the revenue of that next year. 

Senator Harding. In other words, you are paying your way? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Yes, sir. 

Senator Harding. I wanted to ask you after you finished, rather 
than interrupt you when you are speaking, another question. You 
speak of the sugar centrals. 

Mr. Encarnacion. Yes. 

Senator Harding. What established them? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Several of the planters themselves and several 
foreigners—several Americans. 

Senator Harding. In a general way, in whose hands is the sugar 
industry of the islands? 

Mr. Encarnacion. In a general way, I think it is in the hands of 
the planters, because even the sugar centrals controlled by the for¬ 
eigners naturalty depend absolutely on the planter for cane. 

Senator Harding. Who is the planter ? Is he an alien ? 

Mr. Encarnacion. No, sir; the planters are Filipinos; that is, with 
very few exceptions. There are some Spanish planters in Negros 
Island. 

Senator Fletcher. How much home capital do you think that 
you have in the sugar industry in the islands ? 

Mr. Encarnacion. I beg your pardon—- 

Senator Fletcher. How much of the investment in the sugar 
industry in the islands is your own capital—of your own people; 
domestic people? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Of all of these centrals that are operating now, 
about one-half will be in the hands of Filipinos, if not more. 

Senator Fletcher. How much of the capital in the banks you men¬ 
tioned, the resources of the banks that you mentioned, is domestic, or 
home, capital? 

Mr. Encarnacion. I think nearly all, except the deposits of some 
foreigners there. 

Mr. Garrett. The stocks are all owned by Filipino people? 

Mr. Encarnacion. I, think about 51 to 55 per cent is owned by the 
Government, and other stock is owned—the majority, almost all, of 
the other 49 per cent is owned—by Filipinos, and some Americans. 
There are very few Americans. 

Mr. Towner. I think the establishment of the national bank is one 
of the most interesting developments that has occurred in the islands 
recently. Will you not state to the members of the committee, gen¬ 
erally, when it was established and how, and what are the conditions 
of its development ? 

122031—19-3 


34 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Mr. Encarnacion. It has been established by the insular govern¬ 
ment. 

Mr. Towner. Let me interrupt you there. You are one of the direc¬ 
tors of that bank, are you not, or the president of it? 

Mr. Encarnacion. No; I am a member of the board of directors. 
In 1916 our bank was established with the idea of the government to 
promote principally the agricultural development of the islands, 
and, secondly, the development of its commerce. There has been 
enacted a law making an authorized capital of 20,000,000 pesos, which 
is $10,000,000 gold. According to that law the government of the 
Philippine Islands was the owner, or meant to subscribe, about 55 
per cent of the stock of that bank. Owing to the fact that at the 
time the insular government, or the government of the Philippines 
Islands, had not sufficient funds to buy all those stocks, it was pro¬ 
vided that the payments of the different stocks will be paid in differ¬ 
ent installments—not only the stocks subscribed by the government, 
but also the stocks subscribed by the private concerns, so that 
the government was able to subscribe and pay for the share which 
has been subscribed, and we have started the bank with 8,000,000 
pesos of capital, I think. I am not sure, now, of that amount, but it 
was a small amount of capital; and we have been developing the bank 
and the commerce and the agricultural resources of the country, as I 
stated to you before. 

Mr. Towner. The capital stock now paid in of the bank is about 
$4,000,000? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Yes, sir; about $4,500,000 or $4,600,000 gold. 

Mr. Towner. Is that capital stock being increased all the time? 

Mr. Encarnacion. There is a law, I think, amending the bank act 
providing that in case the bank does not need it the subsequent install¬ 
ments can be suspended by action between the government and the 
board of directors of the bank. 

Mr. Towner. It is called the Philippine National Bank? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Yes. 

Mr. Towner. Has it any connection with the national-bank system 
of the United States ? 

Mr. Encarnacion. No, sir. 

Mr. Towner. What are your relations here in this country ? What 
are your exchange relations, and what exchange deposits do you 
carry here, if any? 

Mr. Encarnacion. We have here a branch in New York which 
practically does all our exchange with the United States. 

Mr. Towner. Is that a member of the bank exchange in New York? 

Mr. Encarnacion. I suppose so. I am not sure. 

Mr. Towner. So that your exchange is represented there in the 
clearances in New York City? 

Mr. Encarnacion. I suppose so. 

Mr. Towner. What arrangement have you to maintain your gold 
reserve ? 

Mr. Encarnacion. We have a gold or a standard fund provided 
by our law. 

Mr. Towner. What is that provision ? What is the requirement 
for a gold reserve ? 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


35 


Mr. Encarnacion. In order to maintain the par value of our 
Conant to your dollar the Philippine Legislature many years ago 
enacted a law providing a certain fund to be in the hands of the 
Government, or in the different banks, just to balance the trade be¬ 
tween the United States and the Philippine Islands. 

Mr. Nolan. Is the home office of the bank in Manila ? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Yes. 

Mr. Nolan. With branches existing throughout the Philippine 
Islands? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Yes. 

Mr. Nolan. How many? 

Mr. Encarnacion. We have, besides the office in Manila, one in 
Cebu, one in Corregidor, and we have one in Nueva Eeija, and we 
have one in one of the big towns of Mindanao, and in the Provinces 
we have what we call an agency, through the provincial treasurer of 
the Province. 

Mr. T owner. Do you issue any currency? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Yes. 

Mr. Towner. Does that pass as currencj'? 

Mr. Encarnacion. We issue notes, according to the law of the 
bank- 

Mr. Towner. You issue a certain amount? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Do you mean the Government? 

Mr. Towner. No; I mean the bank itself. 

Mr. E ncarnacion. Yes; we issue bank notes. 

Mr. Towner. You issue bank notes? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Yes. 

Mr. Towner. Those notes circulate throughout the islands? 

Mr. En CARNACION. YeS. 

Mr. Towner. As currency? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Yes. It is not compulsory. 

Mr. Towner. It is not any legal currency? 

Mr. Encarnacion. No; just accepted by the Government. 

Mr. Towner. It is made payable in gold, is it? 

Mr. Encarnacion. In gold or in Conant; but so far as our Conant 
is concerned, our peso is 50 cents gold. 

Mr. Towner. What is the condition for the payment of that 
bank note ? Does it say that it shall be paid in gold ? 

Mr. Encarnacion. No; in Philippine currency. 

Mr. Towner. I do not think you understand me. 

Mr. Encarnacion. Yes. 

Mr. Towner. This bank note is in reality a promise to pay? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Yes, sir; but our bank pays it, there. For 
instance, a P10 note which we promise to pay—that means in our 
currency. 

Mr. Towner. Yes; I understood that correctly; but this is the 
question : What does the bank note say that it shall be paid in? Does 
it say that it shall be paid in gold ? 

Mr. Encarnacion. No, sir. 

Mr. Towner. It does not say anything about that? 

Mr. Encarnacion. No, sir; it is" payable in pesos. It does not say 
we will pay in gold. 

Mr. Towner. It does not? 



36 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Mr. Encarnacion. No; but we are also authorized—now, may I 
also state this, with your permission, Judge? 

Mr. Towner. Yes. 

Mr. Encarnacion. We are also authorized to issue bank notes 
or circulating notes against gold coin of the United States or gold 
bars, and in that case these circulating notes are to be paid in gold. 
I do not know as I make myself understood. 

Mr. Towner. I suppose in gold or in its equivalent. Mr. Garrett 
suggests that, perhaps, you may be issuing two classes of notes. Is 
that the case? 

Mr. Encarnacion. We have been issuing one kind of note only, 
but we are authorized by our charter to issue another group of notes. 
But that has not amounted to anything. 

Mr. Towner. In the law which the Philippine Legislature passed 
authorizing you to issue this currency what provision was made 
for a reserve of gold or its equivalent to pay these notes upon 
presentation ? 

Mr. Encarnacion. We have naturally to pay ourselves, and we 
must keep—I do not remember well now, but I think I am correct 
when I say we must keep not less than 25 per cent. 

Mr. Towner. As gold reserve? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Yes. 

Mr. Towner. Have you had any difficulty in maintaining that gold 
reserve ? 

Mr. Encarnacion. About what? 

Mr. Towner. Have you had any difficulty in maintaining the gold 
reserve—keeping it up to the 25 per cent ? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Oh, I think not, because we do not issue it. 
We just do not issue the notes. 

Mr. Towner. You do not issue beyond the gold reserve? 

Mr. Encarnacion. No; we can not. 

Mr. Towner. And you maintain that all the time at 25 per cent 
of the output? 

Mr. Encarnacion. We can not do otherwise. Our auditor will 
order it in, and the auditor of the bank is the auditor of the insular 
government. 

Mr. Nolan. What did you say the amount of the resources was 
now, $190,000,000? 

Mr. Encarnacion. No. 

Mr. Nolan. Is that gold or pesos ? 

Mr. Encarnacion. Gold. 

Mr. Nolan. How many millions? 

Mr. Encarnacion. It is $124,399,039 gold. 

Mr. Mason. Mr. Chairman, may I just ask, for information, if 
you expect to go on to-morrow ? I wanted a few minutes before the 
committee, and I have been very much engaged. I do not want to 
interrupt, except to ask the question what time I may come before 
the committee. 

Senator Harding. I understand we are to go on to-morrow. I 
understand the members of the commission are leaving the city 
to-morrow evening, and we wanted to give them a chance to be 
heard. 

Mr. Mason. I wanted only 5 or 10 minutes whenever it is con¬ 
venient for me to be heard. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


37 


Senator Harding. You want to address the committee? 

Mr. Mason. I want to address the committee for about 10 minutes. 

Senator Harding. We will arrange for that. 

Mr. Mason. To-morrow? 

Senator Harding. The chairman could not say precisely when, until 
we have finished hearing the delegates who are here from the islands. 
If I thought, Mr. Mason, we could hear you when we get through 
extending this courtesy to our visitors from so great a distance^- 

Mr. Mason. That is very proper. They will finish to-morrow? 

Senator Harding. It would not be possible to say positively to¬ 
morrow. 

Mr. Quezon. I want next to present Mr. Emiliano T. Tirona, a 
member of our house of representatives from Cavite. He is the 
leader of the minority party in the Philippines and floor leader of 
his party in the house of representatives, and he wants to say some¬ 
thing about our politics there. 

Senator Harding. I take it that he represents the outs. [Laugh¬ 
ter.] 

STATEMENT OF MR. EMILIANO TRIA TIRONA. 

Mr. Tirona. I do not know, Mr. Chairman and honorable mem¬ 
bers of the committee, whether my poor English will allow me to 
express my ideas fully, but I feel it my duty to give you my opinion, 
very humbly, as representing a small group in the islands. I am 
here now to address your committee. Perhaps you want to ask me 
some questions. 

Senator Harding. I think it would be better, perhaps, if you 
would make your statement first and then let us ask you questions. 

Mr. Tirona. As I say, I am not very familiar with the English 
language, so that I have committed to writing my statement, and if 
you would like to let me read part of this statement to you I would 
be glad to do so. 

Senator Harding. If you choose, you may read any part of your 
statement that you want to emphasize, and you can turn the paper in 
to the secretary as a whole, and it will be published. Do just as you 
prefer. 

(Mr. Tirona here read the following statement:) 

Commission of Independence, 

Philippine Mission to the United States, 

Washington, D. C. 

To the honorable Members of Congress of United States. 

Gentlemen : For the first time in their history the Filipino people, through 
their legitimate representatives, have sent to this great Nation a mission 
charged with the duty of making use of some of the important rights which the 
Congress of the United States has granted to the Philippines, the liberty of 
expressing their own ideas and the right of petition. 

We have come here bring a message from the 10,000,000 inhabitants of a far¬ 
away land which has been called “ The Pearl of the Orient’s Sea ” by our hero, 
Dr. Rizal, a message of friendship and gratitude to the great people and Gov¬ 
ernment of the United States for the unselfish motives with which they have 
directed the destinies of our dear country. 

It is true that even before the American sovereignty had been extended over 
the Philippine Islands we had as a people duly organized our sacred Christian 
religion, our own institutions, and a Latin civilization. Upon the establish¬ 
ment of the Philippine Republic in the year 1898 the people of the islands, 
through their duly authorized representatives, had organized a government 
eminently popular, which, in the judgment of both natives and foreigners, was 



38 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


able to and in fact did guarantee, during its brief existence, the life, liberty, 
and property of the inhabitants, be they natives or foreigners. We have framed 
a constitution, based upon modern constitutional principles, which guarantee 
freedom of religion, the separation of church and state, the freedom of petition 
and of press, and which recognized the principle that the power of govern¬ 
ment resides in the people; in a word, by that constitution were guaranteed 
practically the same civil and political rights which we now enjoy under the 
laws passed by the Congress of the United States. 

But it goes without saying that a people which longs for freedom to last at 
all times should be a lover of truth and justice; and the Filipino people would 
neither be just nor true if we did not recognize the remarkable work which the 
American Government has undertaken for the benefit of our country for the 
last 20 years. The success thus attained by the American Government, with 
the enthusiastic cooperation, of course, of the Filipinos, is, indeed, a credit to 
the American people and ours, and will never be forgotten by the people of the 
Philippine Islands. 

I do not intend to enumerate hereby the accomplishments thus attained, be¬ 
cause they are found written in the official reports of the Governor General 
of the Philippine Islands, which reports are a matter of public record. Suffice 
it for me to mention some of them, such as the promotion of popular education, 
with a view to affording to the majority of children of school age, especially 
the poor, the benefits of education, which is essential and necessary to make 
them citizens, conscious of their rights and duties, and able to exercise the 
privilege and prerogatives inherent in a democratic government and maintain 
a government essentially of the people, by the people, and for the people. 

Our people did not need inducement to respond with enthusiasm to the 
generous efforts of the government tending to promote education. The people 
have readily paid any tax which has been imposed for educational purposes, 
and it is because they can never forget what our hero, Dr. Rizal, said in one 
of the poems which he wrote, when still a young student, to the effect that he 
desired for his country the general education, because— 

“ It raises the Fatherland to the highest seat 
Of glory immortal and brilliant.” 

From year to year the number of schools and school benefits have been 
increased. In 1918 we had 13,286 teachers, of whom 12,875 were Filipinos and 
401 Americans, with an enrollment of 592,563 students in the primary, inter¬ 
mediate, and secondary schools, to say nothing of those who were studying in 
the two universities which we have, and in the primary schools and colleges 
of primary, intermediate, and secondary instruction. 

For the year 1919-20 it is expected that nearly a million children will have 
access to the public schools, in view of the special appropriation of ?30,- 
000,000 approved by the Philippine Legislature in its last session, in addition 
to the current appropriations for educational purposes during the next five 
years. Far from discouraging the spirit of liberty with which the Filipino 
people are animated, the government of the Philippine Islands has vested it 
in no small degree by spreading the light of education over every house and 
hamlet in the Archipelago; and an educated and enlightened people will never 
fail to appreciate the precious treasure of humanity—liberty. 

You have introduced freedom of religion in our country, and that freedom is 
exercised with the utmost tolerance by the members of the different religions 
there existing, and there have never occurred those disturbances which result 
from religious conflicts in other countries. 

In this conneciton it is worthy of note that not only the central government, 
which is practically under the control of the Filipinos, but also the local govern¬ 
ment, such as the provincial and municipal government, provide for what is 
needed for the spread of public education, public health, for economic develop¬ 
ment, with a view to the personal safety and welfare of the inhabitants of 
the provinces and municipalities under their control. 

You have granted to the Filipinos large control of their public affairs, and 
yet neither the Americans, foreigners, nor Filipinos have suffered thereby; but, 
on the contrary, they are receiving the required inducements from the develop¬ 
ment of their agricultural, commercial, and industrial enterprises in all that 
is not incompatible with the principles of sound government and with public 
welfare. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


39 


The foreign trade in the Philippine Islands during the year 1917 gives the 
following figures: 

Pesos. 

Imports- 131, 594, 061 

Exports- 191 , 208, 615 


Total- 322, 802, 674 

Trade balance__ 59,614,552 

The imports from the United States during the year 1917 already mentioned 
constituted 57.2 per cent, and the rest is from other countries, and the exports 
to the United States constituted 66.1 per cent, and the rest is to other countries. 
During the year 1918 the foreign trade in the Philippines is as follows: 


Imports 

Exports 


Pesos. 

197, 198, 423 
271, 365, 071 


Total- 468, 563, 494 

Trade balance-- 74,166, 648 

Imports per capita_ 19, 698 

Exports per capita_ 27,107 


Of the imports the United States have 59.7 per cent, the rest being from other 
countries, and of the exports the United States have 66.1 per cent. 

As a result of freedom of opinion of the democratic regime there now exist 
in the Philippine Islands two political parties—the Nacionalista Party, which 
is now in power, and the Democratic Party, which is the minority party. 
When problems of vital interest to the country are discussed and decided, as, 
for instance, in the matter of loyalty and assistance to the United States in 
connection with the great war, and when the question of sending the special 
mission in order to work for the political independence of the country, these 
parties forget whatever differences and conflicts they may have in other mat¬ 
ters and cease to be Nacionalista and Democrata and only consider themselves 
as members of that political body known as the Filipino people, and, united 
in a fraternal embrace, place the idea of country above all party consideration. 

The Filipino people are, therefore, convinced that they are sufficiently pre¬ 
pared to maintain a government of order and of law, ready to protect life, lib¬ 
erty, and property, and to promote the welfare and happiness of the inhab¬ 
itants of the Philippine Islands. We shall never forget the useful experiences 
of other progressive countries such as the United States and the principles and 
doctrines of our own heroes, in so far as they refer to the form of government 
which should be established in the islands. 

Mabini, the prime minister of the short-lived Philippine Republic, speaking 
of the true mission of the Philippine revolution on September 6, 1899, said: 

“ Independence alone is not sufficient; but it is also indispensable that there 
should be a government which is essentially moral, that is to say, one which 
governs with truth and without deceit, faithfully complying with the laws and 
fulfilling its promises to the people; a government opportunely progressive, 
that is to say, one which is neither too slow nor too advanced, but which is 
adapted to the degree of culture and the growing needs of the people, because 
extremes are dangerous; in fine, we should have a government which looks after 
the general welfare and not after the interests of any individual or privileged 
class. It is only by this means can we make our country great, and, being 
great, she will be able to fulfill the mission which Providence in His high pur¬ 
pose has assigned to her. We should do away with the vices inherited from a 
decadent society, because they constitute an element of destruction and menace 
to the stability or existence of a new society and a constant obstacle to lofty 
ideas and noble aspirations.” 

These doctrines were enunciated by Mabini, as I already said, in 1899, at the 
height of the conflict between the Americans and Filipinos, when we yet little 
knew of American institutions. These are doctrines the substance of which 
will ever shine in the minds of the Filipinos as their guiding star. 

So, therefore, we now appeal to the American people and ask you to crown 
with success the work of your Government in the Philippine Islands by recog- 














40 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


nizing the existence of a stable government, as testified to by your representa¬ 
tives there, the Governor General, Francis Burton Harrison, and Acting Gov¬ 
ernor General, Charles Emmett Yeater; and, in accordance with the solemn 
promise contained in the act of Congress of August 29, 1916, known as the Jones 
law, we ask you to grant our political independence so that America may have 
the credit of giving to the Philippine Republic a place in the family of inde¬ 
pendent nations, side by side with her sister Republics of Cuba and Panama. 

We entertain not the least doubt that you will do so, as we have no doubt 
that there shine in your minds and burn in your hearts your sacred traditions 
as a liberating nation. 

You have waged war against Spain in order to free Cuba, and now Cuba 
is a free and independent nation; you have recognized the independence of the 
Republic of Panama; you have entered the war against Germany and her 
allies without any purpose of conquest or territorial aggrandizement. And, as 
stated by King George of Great Britain, “ It was love of liberty, respect for 
law, good faith, and the sacred right of humanity that brought you to the Old 
World to help in saving it from the dangers that were threatening around, and 
that arrayed those soldier citizens of yours whose gallantry we have admired.” 
And in keeping with the principles enunciated in your declaration of war 
against Germany you have recognized the independence of Poland and that of 
Czecho-Slovakia. 

We were convinced that you waged war not for your own benefit, but for 
the liberties of the oppressed peoples of the world and to make the world safe 
for democracy; and so the Filipino people at once placed themselves by your 
side. And even though you are the richest country in the world, and you did 
not need the wealth of others in order to carry out the war, the Filipino 
people, in spite of their poverty, spared no efforts to make the different 
Liberty-loan campaigns in the Philippine Islands a complete success by over¬ 
subscribing the quota assigned to the Philippines. 

Although we know that you have men-of-war in abundance, our people as¬ 
sumed the expense of contributing a submarine and a destroyer, and con¬ 
sidered it an honor to offer them to your Government. And we organized a 
division of fighting men which included the best of our youth, ready to sacrifice 
their brilliant future for the sake of humanity and to go wherever your Gov¬ 
ernment would bid them to, and to die in defense of your flag. 

And then we rallied to the support of the Red Cross. Hundreds of thou¬ 
sands of our men and women, and some 200,000 children joined the Red 
Cross as members. The young women in our schools were engaged in pre¬ 
paring bandages for wounded soldiers, and clothes for French and Belgian 
children; and thousands of children were sent in the streets gathering funds 
for the Red Cross, and even went to the extent of depriving themselves, in 
many instances, of whatever toys they could buy, by contributing what little 
money they had to the humanitarian purposes of that institution. 

When we learned in the Philippines through the press of your military 
achievements and victories, our hearts were filled with joy because we could see 
in your victories the triumph of right and the advent of justice for all nations 
of the world, be they great or small. 

And when the news reached the Philippines that Filipino residents in this 
country had joined the American Army and Navy, like Tomas Claudio. Dadison, 
and other Filipinos whose names are unknown, and that forgetting their own 
country, their mothers and other loved ones, fought by the side of your own 
countrymen, and fell in the fields of France to rise no more, under the folds and 
in defense of your sacred banner, the Filipinos were proud to have such humble 
but brave countrymen whom they considered as their national heroes. They 
held them in such veneration that the training camp of our National Guard was 
given the name of the immortal Claudio. And the news of the glorious death 
of such heroes, far from impairing the enthusiasm of our youth to enlist in the 
National Guard, increased their desire to belong to that body and to march 
upon the field of battle in order to offer their lives for the sake of the American 
flag, which to them symbolizes the redemption of our country. The former 
leader of the Filipino revolution, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, who fought against 
the American Army in defense of the Filipino Republic, did not hesitate to 
allow his eldest son to enlist in the National Guard as soon as he learned of the 
declaration of war between the United States and Germany. 

Our people, irrespective of political affiliations and religious beliefs, con¬ 
sidered the cause defended by the United States as their own, and our admira- 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


41 


tion and sympathy went to those officers and soldiers who were wounded and 
met death upon the held of battle. 

Because of the eloquent proofs which you have given of your championship of 
the liberties of peoples, both great and small, we did not hesitate to leave our 
home, and to cross the vast Pacific in order to come to this “ land of the free 
and the home of the brave,” for the purpose of reminding you, at this period 
of readjustment of international relations that there, in that corner of the 
Orient, is a Christian people who, like you, shed the blood of millions of their 
children for the attainment of their ideals, their glorious emancipation; a people 
who, preserving their own virtue, their love of order, of law, and honest en¬ 
deavor, have adopted your laws, your institutions, your language, and a por¬ 
tion of your civilization; a people who, even politically independent of the 
United States, will continue to be bound by an indestructible bond of love and 
gratitude to America. 

Very respectfully submitted. 

Emiliano T. Tirona, 

Minority Floor Leader, House of Representatives, Philippine Islands, 

and Member of Philippine Independence Mission. 

The Chairman. You spoke in the early part of your address 
about the Philippine people having formulated a constitution. 

Mr. Tirona. Yes. sir. 

The Chairman. Do you happen to have with you a copy of that 
constitution ? 

Mr. Tirona. I have not got a copy with me, but I think that Mr. 
Quezon, the chairman of the mission, has. 

The Chairman. Then I will request that you furnish a copy of 
it to the committee. (Constitution here inserted:) , 

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC. 

We, the representatives of the Philippine people, lawfully invoked', in order 
to establish justice, provide for common defense, promote general welfare, and 
insure the benefits of freedom, imploring the aid of the sovereign legislator of 
the universe in order to attain these purposes, have voted, decreed, and sanc¬ 
tioned the following: 

Political Constitution. 

FIRST TITLE. 

The Republic. 

Article 1. The political association of all the Filipinos constitutes a nation, 
the estate of which is denominated Philippine Republic. 

Art. 2. The Philippine Republic is free and independent. 

Art. 3. Sovereignty resides exclusively in the people. 

SECOND TITLE. 

The Government. 


Art 4 The government of the Republic is popular, representative, alternative, 
and responsible and is exercised by three distinct powers, which are denomi¬ 
nated legislative, executive, and judicial. Two or more of these 
never be vested in one person or corporation; neither shall the le & islatuie be 

vested in one individual alone. 


THIRD TITLE. 

Religion. 

Art. 5. The State recognizes the equality of all religious worships and the 
separation of the church and the State. 


42 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


FOURTH TITLE. 

The Filipinos and their national arid individual rights. 

Art. 6. The following are Filipinos: 

1. All persons born in Philippine territory. A vessel flying the Philippine 
flag shall, for this purpose, be construed a portion of the Philippine territory. 

2. The offspring of a Filipino father and mother although born outside of 
the Philippine territory. 

3. Foreigners who have obtained certificates of naturalization. 

4. Those who, without it, may have gained “ vecindad ” (residence) in any 
town of the Philippine territory. 

It is understood that residence is gained by staying two years without in¬ 
terruption in one locality of the Philippine territory, having an open abode and 
known mode of living and contributing to all the charges of the nation. 

The nationality of the Filipino is lost in accordance with the laws. (S. C. C., 
1st Title, 1st art.; S. C. 1st Title, 1st art.) 

Art. 7. No Filipino nor foreigner shall be arrested nor imprisoned unless on 
account of crime and in accordance with the laws. (S. C. 4th art.) 

Art. 8. Any person arrested shall be discharged or delivered over to the 
judicial authority within 24 hours following the arrest. (S. C., 4th art.) 

Any arrest shall be held without effect or shall be carried to commitment 
within 72 hours after the detained has been delivered over to a competent 
judge. 

The party interested shall receive notice of the order which may be issued 
within the same time. (S. C., 4th art.) 

Art. 9. No Filipino can become a prisoner unless by virtue of the mandate 
of a competent judge. 

The decree by which may be issued the mandate shall be ratified or con¬ 
firmed, having heard the presumed criminal within 72 hours following the 
act of commitment. (S. C., 5th art.) 

Art. 10. No one can enter the domicile of a Filipino or foreign resident in 
the Philippines without his consent, except in urgent cases of fire, flood, earth¬ 
quake, or other similar danger, or of unlawful aggression proceeding from 
within, or in order to assist a person within calling for help. 

Outside of these cases, the entrance in the domicile of a Filipino or foreign 
resident of the Philippines and the searching of his papers or effects can only 
be decreed by a competent judge and executed during the day. 

The searching of the papers and effects shall take place always in the pres¬ 
ence of the party interested or of an individual of his family, and, in their 
absence, of two resident witnesses of the same place. 

Notwithstanding when a delinquent may be found in “ flagranti ” and pursued 
by the authority, with its agents, may take refuge in his domicile, he may be 
followed into the same only for the purpose of apprehension. 

If he should take refuge in the domicile of another, notification to the owner 
of the latter shall precede. (S. C., 6th art.) 

Art. 11. No Filipino can be compelled to make change of his domicile or 
residence unless by virtue of an executive sentence. (S. C. 9th art.) 

Art. 12. In no case can there be detained nor opened by the governing au¬ 
thority the correspondence confided to the post office, nor can that of the 
telegraph or telephone be detained. 

But by virtue of a decree of a competent judge can be detained any corre¬ 
spondence, and also opened in the presence of the accused, that which may be 
conveyed by the post office. (S. C., 7th art.) 

Art. 13. Any decree of imprisonment, of search of abode, or of detention of 
the correspondence written, telegraphed, or telephoned shall be justified. 

When the decree may fall short of this requisite, or when the motive in 
which it may be founded may be judicially declared unlawful or notoriously 
insufficient, the person who may have been imprisoned, or whose imprisonment 
may not have been ratified within the term prescribed in article 9, or whose 
domicile may be forcibly entered, or whose correspondence may be detained, 
shall have the right to demand the responsibilities which ensue. (S. C. 8th 
art.) 

Art. 14. No Filipino shall be prosecuted nor sentenced unless by a judge or 
tribunal to whom, by virtue of the laws which precede the crime,'is delegated 
its cognizance, and in the form which the latter prescribe. (S. C., 16th art.) 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


43 


Art. 15. Any person detained or imprisoned within the legal formalities, 
unless in the cases provided in this constitution, shall be discharged upon their 
own petition or that of any Filipino. 

The laws shall determine the form of proceeding summarily in this case, 
as well as the personal and pecuniary penalties incurred by him who may order, 
execute, or cause to be executed the illegal detention or imprisonment. 

Art. 16. No person shall be deprived, temporarily or permanently of his 
property or rights, nor disturbed in the possession of them, unless by virtue 
of a judicial sentence. (S. C., 10th Art.) 

Those functionaries who under any pretext infringe this provision shall be 
personally responsible for the damage caused. 

Art. 17. No person shall be deprived of his property unless through neces¬ 
sity and common welfare, previously justified and declared by the proper 
authority providing indemnity to the owner previous to the deprivation. (S. 
■C., 10th art.) 

Art. 18. No person shall be obliged to pay contribution which may not have 
been voted by the assembly or by the popular corporations legally authorized 
to impose it, and which exaction shall not be made in the form prescribed by 
law. (S. C., 3d art.) 

Art. 19. No Filipino who may be in the full enjoyment of his civil and po¬ 
litical rights'shall be hindered in the free‘exercise of the same. 

Art. 20. Neither shall any Filipino be deprived of— 

1. The right of expressing liberally his ideas and opinions, either by word 
or by writing, availing himself of the press or of any other simlar means. 

2. The right of associating himself with all the objects of human life which 
may not be contrary to public morality; and, finally. 

3. Of the right to direct petitions, individually or collectively, to the public 
powers and to the authorities. 

The right of petition shall not be exercised by any class of armed force. 
(S. C., 15th art.) 

Art. 21. The exercise of the rights expressed in the preceding article shall 
be subject to the general provisions which regulate them. 

Art. 22. Those crimes which are committed upon the occasion of the exer¬ 
cise of the rights granted in this title shall be punished by the tribunals in 
accordance with the common laws. 

Art. 23. Any Filipino can found and maintain establishments of instruction 
or of education, in accordance with the provisions which are established. 

Popular education shall be obligatory and gratuitous in the schools of the 
nation. (S. C., 12th art.) 

Art. 24. Any foreigner may establish himself liberally in the Philippine 
territory, subject to the provisions which regulate the matter, exercising therein 
his industry or devoting himself to any profession in the exercise of which 
the laws may not require diplomas of fitness issued by the national authorities. 
(S. C., 12th art.) 

Art. 25. No Filipino who is in the full enjoyment of his political and civil 
rights shall be hindered from going freely from the territory, nor from remov¬ 
ing his residence or property to a foreign country, except the obligations of con¬ 
tributing to the military service and the maintenance of the public taxes. 

Art. 26. The foreigner who may not have become naturalized shall not exer¬ 
cise in the Philippines any office which may have attached to it authority or 
jurisdiction. 

Art 27. Every Filipino is obliged to defend the country with arms when he 
may be called upon by the laws, and to contribute to the expenses of the estate 
(government) in proportion to his property. (S.*C., 13th art.) 

Art. 28. The enumeration of the rights granted in this title does not imply the 
prohibition of any other not expressly delegated. 

Art. 29. Previous authorization shall not be necessary in order to prosecute 
before the ordinary tribunals the public functionaries, whatever may be the 
•crime which they commit. 

A superior mandate shall not exempt from responsibility in cases of manifest 
infraction, clear and determinate, of a constitutional provision. In the other 
cases it shall exempt only the agents who may not exercise the authority. 

Art. 30. The guaranties provided in articles 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, and para¬ 
graphs 1 and 2 of the twelfth article shall not be suspended in the republic 
nor any part of it unless temporarily and by means of a law, when the security 
■of the estate shall demand it in extraordinary circumstances. 


44 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


It being promulgated in the territory to which it may apply, the special law 
shall govern during the suspension according to the circumstances which de¬ 
mand it. 

The latter, as well as the former, shall be voted in the national assembly, and 
in case the assembly may be closed the government is authorized to issue it in 
conjunction with the permanent commission without prejudice to convoking the 
former within the shortest time and giving them information of what may have 
been done. 

But neither by the one nor the other law can there be suspended any other 
guaranties than those delegated in the first paragraph of this article nor au¬ 
thorizing the government to banish from the country or transport any Filipino. 

In no case can the military or civil chiefs establish any other penalty than 
that previously prescribed by the law. (S. C., 17tli art.) 

Art. 31. In the Philippine republic no one can be tried by private laws nor 
special tribunals. No person can have privileges nor enjoy emoluments which 
may not be compensation for public service and which are fixed by law. “ El 
fuero de fuerra y mariana ” (the jurisdiction, privileges, and powers of army 
and navy) shall extend solely to the crimes and faults which niay have intimate 
connection with the military and maritime discipline. 

Art. 32. No Filipino can establish “ mayorazgos ” now institutions “ vicula- 
doras ” (title of perpetual succession by eldest son nor institutions entailed) of 
property, nor accept honors, “ condecoraciones ” (insignia or decoration of 
orders) or titles of honor and nobility from foreign nations without the authori¬ 
zation of the government. 

Neither can the government establish the institutions mentioned in the pre¬ 
ceding paragraph, nor grant honors “condecoraciones” (insignia or decoration 
of orders) or titles of honor and nobility from foreign nations without the au¬ 
thorization of the government. 

Neither can the government establish the institutions mentioned in the pre¬ 
ceding paragraph, nor grant honors “ condecoraciones ” or titles of honor and 
nobility to any Filipino. 

Notwithstanding the nation may reward by a special law, voted by the assem¬ 
bly, eminent services which may be rendered by the citizens to their country. 

FIFTH TITLE. 

Legislative power. 

Art. 33. The legislative power shall be exercised by an assembly of the rep¬ 
resentatives of the nation. 

This assembly shall be organized in the form and under the conditions deter¬ 
mined by the law which may be issued to that effect. 

Art. 34. The members of the assembly shall represent the entire nation, and 
not exclusively those who elect them. 

Art. 35. No representative shall be subjected to any imperative mandate of 
his electors. 

Art. 36. The assembly shall meet every year. It is the prerogative of the 
president of the republic to convoke it, suspend, and close the sessions, and 
dissolve it, in concurrence with the same or with the permanent commission 
in its default, and within legal terms. 

Art. 37. The assembly shall be open at least three months each year, not 
including in this time that which is consumed in its organization. 

The president of the republic shall convoke it. at the latest, by the 15th of 
April. 

Art. 38. In an extraordinary case he can convoke it outside of the legal 
period, with the concurrence of the permanent commission, and prolong the 
legislature, when the term does not exceed one month nor takes place more 
than twice in the same legislature. 

Art. 39. The national assembly, together with the extraordinary representa¬ 
tives, shall form the constituents in order to proceed to the modification of the 
constitution and to the election of the new president of the republic, convoked 
at least one month previous to the termination of the powers of the former. 

In the case of the death or of the resignation of the president of the republic, 
the assembly shall meet immediately by its own right and at the request of 
its president or that of the permanent commission. 

Art. 40. In the meantime, while the appointment of the new president of the 
republic proceeds, the president of the supreme court of justice shall exercise 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


45 


his functions, his place being tilled by one of the members of this tribunal, in 
accordance with the laws. 

Art. 41. Any meeting of the assembly which may be held outside of the 
ordinary period of the legislature shall be null and void. That which is pro¬ 
vided by article 39 is excepted, and in that the assembly is constituted a 
tribunal of justice, not being allowed to exercise in such case other than judi¬ 
cial functions. 

Art. 42. The sessions of the assembly shall be public. Notwithstanding, they 
•can be secret at the petition of a certain number of individuals, fixed by the 
regulations, it being decided afterwards by an absolute majority of the votes 
of the members present whether the discussion of the same matter be con¬ 
tinued in public. 

Art. 43. The president of the republic shall communicate with the assembly 
by means of messages, which shall be read from the rostrum by a secretary 
•of the government. 

The secretaries of the government shall have entrance into the assembly, with 
the right to the floor whenever they ask it, and shall cause themselves to be 
represented in the discussion of any particular project by commissioners desig¬ 
nated by decree of the president of the republic. 

Art. 44. The assembly shall constitute itself a tribunal of justice in order 
to try the crimes committed against the security of the estate by the president 
■of the republic and individuals of the counsel of government, by the president 
of the supreme court of justice, by the procurer general of the nation by 
means of a decree of the same, or of the permanent commission in its absence, 
or of the president of the republic at the proposal of the procurer general, or of 
the counsel of the government. 

The laws shall determine the mode of procedure for the accusation, prepara¬ 
tion for trial, and pardon. 

Art. 45. No member of the assembly can be prosecuted nor molested for the 
opinions which he may express nor for the votes which he may cast in the 
exercise of his office. 

Art. 46. No member of an assembly can be prosecuted in a criminal matter 
without authorization of the same, or of the permanent commission, to whom 
shall immediately be given information of the act for proper disposition. 

The arrest, detention, or apprehension of a member of the assembly can not 
take place without previous authorization of the same or of the permanent 
•commission; but, having once notified the assembly of the decree of arrest, 
shall incur responsibility if, within two days following the notification, it may 
not authorize the arrest or give reasons upon which the refusal is founded. 

Art. 47. The national assembly shall have besides the following powers: 

1. To frame regulations for its interior government; 

2. To examine the legality of the elections and the legal qualifications of the 
members elected; 

3. Upon its organization to appoint its president, vice president, and sec¬ 
retaries ; 

Until the assembly may be dissolved, its president, vice presidents, and sec¬ 
retaries shall continue exercising their offices during the four legislatures; and 

4. To accept the resignations presented by its members and grant leaves of 
absence subject to the regulations. (S. C., 34th and 35tli arts.) 

Art. 48. No project can become a law before being voted upon by the 
assembly. 

In order to pass the laws there shall be required in the assembly at least a 
fourth part of the total number of members whose elections may have been 
approved and who may have taken the oath of office. 

Art. 49. No proposed law can be approved by the assembly without being 
voted upon as a whole and article by article. 

Art. 50. The assemblies shall have the right of censure and each one of its 
members the right to be heard. 

Art. 51. The proposal of the laws belongs to the president of the republic and 
to the assembly. 

Art. 52. The representative of the assembly who accepts of the government 
pension, employment, or commission, with a salary, shall be understood to have 
resigned his office. 

The employment of the secretary of the government of the republic and 
other offices prescribed in special laws are excepted from this provision. (S. 
C., 31st art.) 


46 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Art. 53. The office of representative shall be for the term of four years, and 
those who may exercise it have the right, by way of indemnity, according to- 
the circumstances, to a sum determined by the law. 

Those who may absent themselves during the whole of the legislature shall 
not be entitled to this indemnity, but will recover this right if they assist in 
those which follow. 

SIXTH TITLE. 

The permanent commission. 

Art. 54. The assembly, before the closing of its session, shall elect seven 
of its members in order to constitute a permanent commission during the- 
period of its being closed, the latter being obliged in its first session to- 
designate a president and secretary. 

Art. 55. The following are the functions of the permanent commission in the- 
absence of the assembly: 

1. To declare whether or not there is sufficient reason to proceed against 
the president of the republic, the representatives, secretaries of government,, 
president of the supreme court of justice, and the procurer general in the cases- 
provided by this constitution. 

2. To convoke the assembly to an extraordinary meeting in those cases in. 
which it should constitute a tribunal of justice. 

3. To transact the business which may remain pending for consideration. 

4. To convoke the assembly to extraordinary sessions when the exigency of 
the case may demand; and 

5. To substitute the assembly in its functions in accordance with the con¬ 
stitution, exception being made of the right to make and pass the laws. 

The permanent commission shall meet whenever it may be convoked by him 
who presides in accordance with this constitution. 

SEVENTH TITLE. 

The executive power. 

Art. 56. The executive power shall reside in the president of the republic,, 
who exercises it through his secretaries. 

Art. 57. The conduct of the interests peculiar to the towns, the Provinces, and 
the estate belonging, respectively, to the popular assemblies, to the provincial! 
assemblies, and to the active administration, with reference to laws, and upon 
the basis of the most ample “ desceb-trakizacion ” (distribution) and adminis¬ 
trative autonomy. 

EIGHTH TITLE. 

The president of the republic. 

Art. 58. The president of the republic shall be elected by an absolute majority 
of votes by the assembly and the representatives specially met in constitutive 
chamber. 

His term -of office shall be for four years, and he will be reeligible. 

Art. 59. The president of the republic shall have the proposals of the laws- 
as well as the members of the assembly, and shall promulgate the laws when, 
they have been passed and approved by the latter and shall watch over and 
insure their execution. 

Art. 60. The power of causing the laws to be executed extends itself to all 
that which conduces to the conservation of public order in the interior and the 
international security. 

Art. 61. The president of the republic shall promulgate the laws within 20 
days following the time when they have been transmitted by the assembly 
definitely approved. 

Art. 62. If within this time they may not be promulgated it shall devolve 
upon the president to return them to the assembly with justification of the 
causes of their detention, proceeding in such case to their revision, and it 
shall not be considered that it insists upon them if it does not reproduce them 
by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the assembly present. 
Reproducing the law in the form indicated, the government shall promulgate 
it within 10 days, announcing his nonconformity. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 47 

In the same manner the government shall become obligated if he allow to 
pass the term of. 20 days without returning the law to the assembly. 

Art. 63. When the promulgation of a law may have been declared urgent by 
a vote expressed by an absolute majority of the votes of the assembly, the 
president can call upon them by a message, stating his reasons for a new 
deliberation, which cannot be denied, and the same law being approved anew, 
shall be promulgated within the legal term without prejudice to the president’s 
announcing his nonconformity. 

Art. 64. The promulgation of the laws shall take place by means of their 
publication in the official periodical of the republic and shall take effect after 
30 days from the date of publication. 

Art. 65. The president of the republic shall have command of the army and 
navy, making and ratifying treaties, of peace, with the previous concurrence of 
the assembly. 

Art. 66. Treaties of peacq shall not be binding until passed by the assembly. 

Art. 67. In addition to the necessary powers for the execution of the laws, the 
president of the republic shall have the following: 

1. To confer civil and military employment with reference to the laws. 

2. To appoint the secretaries of the government. 

3. To direct diplomatic and commercial relations with foreign powers. 

4. To see to it that in the entire territory may be administered speedy and 
complete justice. 

5. To pardon delinquents in accordance with the laws, excepting the provision 
relative to the secretaries of the government. 

6. To preside over national assemblies and to receive the envoys and repre¬ 
sentatives of foreign powers authorized to meet him. 

Art. 68. The president of the republic shall need to be authorized by a 
special law: 

1. In order to alienate, cede, or exchange any part of the Filipino territory. 

2. In order to annex any other territory to that of the Philippines. 

3. In order to admit foreign troops into the Philippine territory. 

4. In order to ratify treaties of alliance, offensive and defensive; special 1 
treatise of commerce—those which stipulate to give subsidy to a foreign 
power—and all those which may bind individually the Filipinos. 

In no case can the secret articles of a treaty derogate those which are public. 

5. In order to grant amnesties and general pardons. 

6. In order to coin money. (S. C., 55th art.) 

Art. 69. To the president of the republic belongs the power of dictating 
regulations for compliance and application ^f the laws in accordance with the 
requisition which the same prescribe. (S. C., 54tli art.) 

Art. 70. The president of the republic can, with the previous concurrence, 
adopted by a majority of the votes of the representatives, dissolve the assem¬ 
bly before the expiration of the legal term of its office. 

In this case they shall be convoked for new elections within a term of three 
months. 

Art. 71. The president of the republic shall only be responsible in cases of 
high treason. 

Art. 72. The compensation of the president of the republic shall be fixed 
by a special law, which can not be changed until the end of the presidential 
term of office. 

NINTH TITLE. 

The secretaries of the government. 

Art. 73. The council of the government shall be composed of a president 
and seven secretaries, who shall have charge of the offices of foreign affairs, 
interior, treasury, army and navy, public instruction, public communications 
and works, agriculture, industry, and commerce. 

Art. 74. All that which the president may order or provide in the exercise 
of his authority, shall be signed by the secretary to whom it belongs. No 
•public functionary shall give compliance to any which lack this requisite. 

Art. 75. The secretaries of .the government are responsible jointly to the as¬ 
sembly for the general policy of the government and individually for their 
personal acts. 

To the procurer general of the nation belongs the accusing of them and to 
the assembly their trial, 


48 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 

The laws shall determine the cases of responsibility of the secretaries of the 
government, the penalties to which they are subject, and the mode of proce¬ 
dure against them. 

Art. 76. If they should be condemned by the assembly, in order to pardon 
them, there shall precede the petition of an absolute majority of the repre¬ 
sentatives. 

TENTH TITLE. 

The judicial power. 

Art. 77. To the tribunals belong exclusively the power of applying the laws 
in the name of the nation in civil and criminal trials. 

The same codes shall govern in the entire republic without prejudice to 
modifications, which, for particular circumstances, the laws may prescribe. 

In them shall not be established more than one jurisdiction for all the citi¬ 
zens in common trials, civil, and criminal. 

Art. 78. The tribunals shall not apply the general and municipal regulations 
only in so far as they conform with the laws. 

Art. 79. The exercise of the judicial power resides in the supreme court 
of justice and in the tribunals which are prescribed by the laws. 

The composition, organization, and other attributes shall be governed by 
the organic laws which may be determined. 

Art. 80. The president of the supreme court of justice and the “ procurer 
general ” shall be appointed by the national assembly in concurrence with the 
president of the republic and secretaries of the government, and shall have 
absolute independence of the executive and legislative powers. 

Art. 81. Any citizen can institute a public prosecution against any of the 
members of the judicial power for the crimes they may commit in the exercise 
of their office. 

ELEVENTH TITLE. 

Provincial and popular assemblies. 

Art. 82. The organization and powers of the provincial and popular assem¬ 
blies will be regulated by their respective laws. 

The latter shall be regulated according to the following principles: 

1. Government and management of the interests peculiar to the provinces or 
towns, by their respective corporations, the principle of popular and direct elec¬ 
tion being the basis for the organization of said corporations. 

2. Publicity of the sessions within the limits prescribed by the laws. 

3. Publicity of the budgets, accounts, and important decisions. 

4. Intervention of the government, and in the proper case of the national 
assembly in order to prevent the provincial and municipal corporations from ex¬ 
ceeding their powers, to the prejudice of general and individual interests. 

5. Determination of their powers in the . matter of taxes, in order that the 
provincial and municipal taxation may never be antagonistic to the system of 
taxation of state. 

TWELFTH TITLE. 

The administration of state. 

Art. 83. The government shall present yearly to the assembly budgets of in¬ 
come and expenses, setting forth the alterations made in those of the preceding 
yenr and inclosing the balance of the last fiscal year in accordance to law. 

When the assembly may meet the budgets will be presented to it within 10 
days following its convening. 

Art. 84. No payment shall be made except in accordance with the law of 
budgets or other special laws, in the form and under the responsibilities fixed 
thereby. 

Art. 85. It is necessary that the government be authorized by law in order 
to dispose of the goods and properties of state or to secure a loan upon the 
credit of the nation. 

Art. 86. The public debt which is contracted by the government of the re¬ 
public in accordance with this constitution shall be under the special guaranty 
of the nation. 

No indebtedness shall be created unless at the same time the resources with 
which to pay it are voted. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


49 


^he * aws re l a ting to income, public expenditures, or public credit 
such be conSidered as a part of those of the budgets, and shall be published as 

Art. 88. The assembly shall fix each year, at the request of the president 
of the republic, the military forces of land and sea. 

THIRTEENTH TITLE. 

Reforms in the constitution. 

Art. 89. The assembly, upon its own motion, or at the proposal of the presi¬ 
dent of the republic, can resolve the reform of the constitution, prescribing for 
that purpose the article or articles which should be modified. 

Art. 90. The declaration made, the president of the republic shall dissolve the 
assembly and convoke the “ constituyente ” (constituting power), which shall 
meet within three months following. In the convocation shall be inserted the 
resolution referred to in the preceding article. 

FOURTEENTH TITLE. 

The observance and oath of the constitution — languages. 

Art. 91. The president of the republic, the government, the assembly, and all 
the Filipino citizens shall faithfully guard the constitution; and the legislative 
power, immediately after the approval of the law of budgets, shall examine as 
to whether the constitution has been exactly observed and as to whether its 
infractions have been corrected, providing that which is most practicable in 
order that the responsibilities of the transgressors may be made effective. 

Art. 92. Neither the president of the republic nor any other public functionary 
can enter upon the performance of his duty without previously taking the oath. 

Such oath shall be taken by the president of the republic before the national 
assembly. 

The other functionaries of the nation shall take it before the authorities 
determined by law. 

Art. 93. The use of the languages spoken in the Philippines is optional. It can 
only be regulated by the law and solely as to the acts of public authority and 
judicial affairs. For the purpose of these acts shall be used at present the 
Castilian language. 

Temporary provisions. 

Art. 94. In the meantime and without prejudice to the forty-eighth article and 
the commissions which may be appointed by the assembly for the preparation of 
the organic laws for the development and application of the rights granted the 
Filipino citizens, and for the regime of the public powers determined by the con¬ 
stitution. the laws in force in these islands before their emancipation shall be 
considered as the laws of the republic. 

In like manner shall be considered in force the provisions of the civil code in 
respect to marriage and civil registry, suspended by the general government of 
the islands; the instructions of the 26th of April, 1888, in order to carry into 
effect articles 77, 78. 79, and 82 of said code; the law of civil registry of the 17th 
of June, 1870, referred to by article 332 of the same ; and the regulations of the 
13th of December, 1870, for the execution of this law, without prejudice to the 
local chiefs, continuing in charge of the entries in the civil registry and inter¬ 
vening in the celebration of the marriage of Catholics. 

Art. 95. Pending the approval and enforcement of the laws referred to in the 
preceding article the provisions of the Spanish laws temporarily enforced by 
said article may be modified by special laws. 

Art. 96. After promulgating the laws which the assembly may approve, in 
accordance with the ninety-fourth article, the government of the republic is 
authorized to issue the decree and regulations necessary for the immediate 
formation of all the organizations of state. 

Art. 97. The president of the revolutionary government shall at once assume 
the title of president of the republic, and shall exercise said office until the con¬ 
stituting assembly meets and elects the person who is to fill said office definitely. 

122031—19-4 



50 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Art. 98. This congress, with the members who compose it and those who may 
be returned by election or decree, shall continue four years; that is to say, the 
whole of the present legislature, beginning the 15th of April of next year. 

Art. 99. Notwithstanding the general rule established in the second paragraph 
of the fourth article, during the time the country may have to struggle for its 
independence, the government is hereby authorized to determine, at the close 
of congress whatever questions and difficulties, not provided ^for by law, may 
arise from unforeseen events, by means of decrees, which may be communicated 
to the permanent commission and to the assembly on its first meeting. 

Art. 100. The execution of the fifth article of title 3 is hereby suspended until 
the meeting of the constituting assembly. 

In the meantime the municipalities of those places which may require the 
spiritual offices of a Filipino priest shall provide for his maintenance. 

Art. 101. Notwithstanding the provisions of articles 62 and 63, the laws 
returned by the president of the republic to congress can not be reproduced 
until the legislature of the following years, the president and his council ol 
government being responsible for the suspension. If the reproduction be made, 
the promulgation will be compulsory within 10 days, the president stating his 
nonconformity if he so desires. 

If the reproduction be made in subsequent legislatures, it will be considered 
as being voted for the first time. 

additional article. 

From the 24th of May last, on which date the dictatorial government was 
organized in Cavite, all the buildings, properties, and other belongings possessed 
by the religious corporation in these islands will be understood as restored to the 
Filipino government. 

Barasoain, January 20, 1899. 

Pedro A. Paterno, 

The President of the Congress. 

Pablo Tecson, 

Pablo Ocampo, 

The Secretaries. 

Mr. Tirona. This constitution was framed by the Filipino Con¬ 
gress which was established during the short lifetime of our Phil¬ 
ippine Republic and is based upon the modern principles of con¬ 
stitutional government—consecrating the individual rights of citi¬ 
zens and people, the life, property, and everything that is sacred 
to mankind; a government based upon the division of power and 
creating also a congress or legislative body. 

Mr. Fletcher. Do I understand that you offer that as indicating 
your own views of a constitution you would like to have? 

Mr. Tirona. I beg your pardon ? 

Mr. Fletcher. Do I understand that you are presenting that as 
indicating your own views? 

Mr. Tirona. I referred to that constitution in order to show in¬ 
directly that our people, even before the American occupation, 
were able to manage their own affairs and to conduct a government 
according to their own point of view and the wisdom nature has 
given to them. 

Mr. Fletcher. You are not committing yourself as to that form 
of constitution now, are you? Are you in favor of that form of 
constitution ? 

Mr. Tirona. Well, I have my own idea about the constitution. 
We are trying to influence our people to adopt a constitution similar 
to that of the United States, as required by our special conditions, 
because we believe that a constitution should be not an idea or 
theory, but an instrument to reflect the aspirations of the people and 
which tends to secure those things that improve the condition of 
mankind. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


51 


Mr. Fletcher. Have you any merchant shipping at all outside 
of some small boats operating between the Islands ? Have you any 
merchant shipping? 

Mr. Tirona. Yes, sir; we have interisland commerce there? 

Mr. Fletcher. What kind of vessels are they? 

Mr. Tirona. AVe have several kinds of vessels—vessels of 500 
tons to vessels of 1,000 tons in the interisland commerce. AVe have 
several main ports in the islands, for instance, Cebu, Aparri, Sam- 
boanga, Yloilo, between which there is constant and permanent 
trade relations. 

Mr. Fletcher. How much does your coastwise tonnage amount 
to? 

Mr. Tirona. I do not remember the figures, but I have with me 
a pamphlet containing the latest statistics published regarding com¬ 
mercial and industrial development and activity of the Islands and 
will try to find it for you. 

Mr. Fletcher. AVell, you can put that in later. You have no 
ocean-going shipping to amount to much, have you? 

Mr. Tirona. I beg pardon? 

Mr. Fletcher. You have no great amount of ocean-going ship- 
ing. no boats for foreign trade? 

Mr. Tirona. Several Filipino private firms own ocean-going 
vessels. For instance, Mr. Vicente Madrigal is one of our great finan¬ 
ciers during these last years, and Mr. Ramon Fernandez is one of 
them also. 

Mr. Fletcher. Are they sailing vessels or steam vessels? 

Air. Tirona. Steam vessels. 

The Chairman. In other words, you have vessels plying to the 
ports of Hongkong and to Japanese ports? 

Air. Tirona. To Hongkong and Japanese ports bringing coal to 
the islands for commercial and industrial uses. I think it was a 
Filipino, Mr. Madrigal, who was a contractor of the Government and 
supplied the needs of the Government for coal during this last war. 

The Chairman. Do you happen to have in your possession any 
documents at this time showing your shipping reserves? 

Air. Tirona. I think we have. 

The Chairman. Then I will ask you if you will ge good enough 
to put them in the record. 

Mr. Tirona. Certainly we have. 


52 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Principal countries benefited by the foreign trade of the Philippines, showing 
the order in bulk of the share of each in the years 1913 and 1918. 


Country. 

1913 

1918 

Rank. 

Amount. 

Per cent. 

Rank. 

Amount. 

Per cent. 

United States. 

1 

P86,220,558 
28,889,472 
14.635.528 
13’862,032 
9,260,078 
7,661.436 
7,416,752 
7,382,858 
6,590,002 
5,439,842 

42.65 

1 

P296,918,916 

63.4 

United Kingdom. 

2 

14.29 

2 

44,492,210 

9.5 

Japan. 

3 

7.24 

3 

42,144,920 

9.0 

France. 

4 

6.86 

10 

4,097,446 

.9 

Germany. 

5 

4. 58 

20 

65,215 

.08 

China. 

6 

3.79 

4 

19,656,736 

4.02 

Hongkong. 

7 

3.67 

6 

10,129,983 

2.2 

Spain. 

8 

3. 65 

8 

7,860,335 

1.6 

Australasia. 

9 

3. 26 

7 

8,873,767 
16,560,839 

1.9 

French East Indies.. 

10 

2.68 

5 

3.5 

British East Indies. 

11 

3,984,732 

1,662,362 

1.97 

9 

7,031,771 

1.5 

Belgium. 

12 

.82 

25 

474 

.02 

Switzerland. 

13 

1,501,794 
1,451,910 
1,444,244 
4,767,884 

.75 

15 

1,215,741 

. 2 

Italy. 

14 

.72 

16 

378,305 


Hawaii. 

15 

.71 

14 

958,872 

.2 

All others. 

2.36 

8,181,964 

1.7 





Total.. 


202,171,484 

100 


468,563,494 

100 





Even in the carrying trade a closer economic relation with the United States 
has been brought about. Of the total trade of the United States in 1914, Brit¬ 
ish vessels carried 1*125,674,628; vessels of American registry second with 
1*20,434,000 worth of goods; German a close third with 1*14,991,674 worth; 
Japanese fourth with ^14,609,810; and the remainder was carried by Spanish, 
Norwegian, and other nationalities. 

In 1917 the British carrying trade dropped to 1*109,537,765 out of 1*322,802,674, 
although they easily stood first. The nearest competitor in this carrying trade 
were the Japanese, with 1*87,285,927. Vessels of American registry stood 
third with 1*78,800,161, and the remainder was divided among Norwegian, Span¬ 
ish, Philippine, and others. 

In the year 1918, however, a marked change was noticed, for American ves¬ 
sels occupied the first place with a total of 1*162,861,635, followed by the British 
with 1*121,975,745, then the Japanese a close third with 1*107,698,918, the Nor¬ 
wegian fourth with 1*17,589,898, the Philippine with 1*15,568,718, the Danish 
with f*13,078;701, the Chinese, the Dutch, the Spanish, and few others the rest. 

Mr. Fairfield. Can you tell me what proportion of your citizen¬ 
ship participated actively in your government by voting or other- 
ise? 

Mr. Tirona. Well, there is a general interest among the people in 
voting whenever an election is held. However, sometimes all the 
voters can not go to the elections, not because they are not willing to 
do so but because they may be sick or have sickness in their families; 
but, according to the last census that has been prepared this year, be¬ 
cause of a change in our electoral law we will have more than 
1,750,000 voters out of a population of 10,000,000, including women 
and children and those people who are inhabiting the non-Christian 
portions. 

Mr. Fletcher. Then, out of that 10,000,000, how many have 
voted ? 

Mr. Tirona. During the last government election I think about 
300,000 voted; and the explanation of that is that there were some 
restrictions in our election laws; but now we have changed the 
qualifications so that those who do not speak English or Spanish 
but who do speak, read, and write the dialect have been granted the 
right of voting. That has increased the electorate to 1,700,000. 


































PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


53 


As a further remark, I want to call the precious attention of this 
honorable committee to the fact that up until very recently nothing 
has occurred in our island that is unfavorable to our independence. 
I do not know whether it will interest the committee to know some¬ 
thing about our politics in the islands. If you are interested in know¬ 
ing about it, I will do my best to tell you; if not, I will finish my 
remarks. 

Mr. Fairfield. How do they compare in strength? 

Mr. Tirona. How about their strength? 

Mr. Fairfield. How do the two parties compare in strength? 

Mr. Tirona. Well, I will go back to the first old party we had. As 
soon as the American Government was established in the islands a 
Filipino organization was established which was called the Federal 
Party. This party was founded during turbulent times. The remem¬ 
brances of that unfortunate struggle between the Americans and the 
Filipinos was still fresh in their minds. At that time the Federal 
Party stood for the annexation of the islands to the United States 
with a view to making the islands at some certain time to come a 
member of this great federation, the United States. The purpose was 
a very high and noble one. Many people felt that the most glorious 
honor that could exist was citizenship in this great Nation with the 
privileges' incident to such citizenship; but most of the people felt 
that idea was Utopian because of the differences of language, insti¬ 
tutions, customs, and race, to say nothing of the great distance sepa¬ 
rating the two countries and the natural sentiment of our people to 
be free, to develop their own resources, and live independently rather 
than to belong to some other organization. 

Now, the American government of occupation tried to secure the 
aid of the Federal Party in capturing the forces of the revolutionary 
army, which, after being defeated by the overwhelming strength of 
the American Army, sought refuge in the forests and groves. 
Through members of the Federal Party they represented that these 
revolutionaries who were living in the forests by living in order and 
recognizing American sovereignty could work for the cause for which 
they fought. Now, those forces, having been convinced by the mem¬ 
bers of the Federal Party and considering the uselessness of further 
fighting, surrendered, and then the Federal Party became simply an 
intermediary between the people and the government, but as soon 
as normal conditions were reestablished the people, believing that the 
Federal Party did not represent the sentiment of the people, formed 
new parties which worked in opposition to the Federal Party. One 
of them was called the Independence Party because it had for its 
platform the securing of immediate independence. The other party 
was the Immediatista—the immediate independence of the people. 
Another party was called “ The Union National,” which also had for 
its aim the securing of independence. 

Since the formation of those three parties, whose platforms were 
based upon the independence of the people, the Federal Party decided 
to dissolve. The doctrines of the later parties were such as lead the 
people to believe that the Federal Party was not living up to its 
promises. It was very weak, it would compare favorably to an army 
composed of officers and generals but no soldiers. They saw the lack 
of support and sympathy of the people and formed a new organiza- 


54 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


tion called “ Partido National Progresista,” which was also intended 
to secure the independence of the people. The Progresista proposed 
a gradual preparation for popular government, but that party 
never won at an election. The Nationalista Party, about which I 
have not told you before, is the result of a union of those old groups 
and parties seeking to secure the independence of the people. So that 
the Nationalista Party was the very voice and sentiment of the 
people. As I said, the Progresista Party was trying to make some 
preparation for independence when it should come, but that party 
has always been defeated in every election which has been held since 
its organization, particularly in the first assembly election for legisla¬ 
tive office. Out of 86 offices in the assembly in the legislative body 
only 16 were occupied by the Progresista. The remainder were held 
by the Nationalista Party. 

In the course of events in the United States the time came when 
the late deceased Congressman, Mr. Jones, whose memory is much 
respected in our country, presented a bill, which we call “Jones Bill 
No. 1,” providing for the establishment of an independent govern¬ 
ment, but a qualified independent government. That provided that 
four years from July 4, 1916, that qualified independent government 
should be converted into an absolute government subsequent to a call to 
our people by the President of the United States for a general elec¬ 
tion. During the existence of the provisional government the presi¬ 
dent of the Philippines in office July 4, 1916, shall be the president 
appointed by the President of the United States, who will act as a 
resident of the Philippine Islands with the least powers possible, but 
who shall watch the progress of the government of the Philippine 
Islands. 

Since that bill was presented to Congress both political parties in 
that island, Progresista and Nationalista, because I have said that 
the several parties working for the independence of the islands have 
been united and adopted the name Nationalista. Both parties, the 
Nationalista, trying to secure immediate independence, and the 
Progresista, trying to secure independence, after a period of prep¬ 
aration have united in support of that Jones bill No. 1, which 
was presented in the Congress of the United States. The National¬ 
ista party has adhered to that. Its platform is based upon im¬ 
mediate independence as a way of conciliating the radical aspira¬ 
tions of that people with the conservative view of the people of the 
United States. However, after that bill was presented another 
bill was introduced, which we in the Philippines call Jones bill No. 
2. That bill was also framed and presented by the late Congress¬ 
man Jones, and has been a law since the 29th of August, 1916. The 
passage of that bill caused a split in the Nationalista party, because 
many of them felt it was not giving us our immediate independence, 
and that the Nationalista party had not fulfilled its pledges to the 
people. So some members of the Nationalista party separated them¬ 
selves from that party and founded another organization having 
the same aim as the Nationalista party. In fact, that group could 
be called a branch of the Nationalista party which thought the lead¬ 
ers of the party had been weak in their demands and procedure. 
They have founded another party. The Progresista party joined 
the other party because they felt that that period of preparation for 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


55 


popular government for which they stood had been completed and 
are truly convinced in the last three or four years that the people 
need no preparation and are now ready for it. As a result they 
affiliated with my party, the Democratic party, as representing the 
same radical tendency in regard to Philippine independence; but 
probably the Nationalista and the Progresista parties are united at 
this very time, since the sending of the mission to this country to 
secure independence and have forgotten their differences, except in 
some matters and points of administration and interior affairs, such 
as the administration of public funds, believing that a good sound 
government requires the existence of several organizations that can 
reflect the opinion of the people and also the existence of newspapers 
to voice the opinion of the people, for proper government must be 
based upon free discussion. There may be some discussion between 
the two parties before any election, but after the election is over the 
two parties bear harmonious relationship to each other, the losing 
party respecting the winning party. 

The Chairman. I am sorry I am not better informed regarding 
your country, but there is a question I wanted to ask you: In your 
educational work what languages do you teach in your public 
schools ? 

Mr. Tirona. In our public schools the only language taught is 
the English language. Even in the private schools the English 
language is a compulsory subject. If it is not the school does not 
receive government recognition. 

The Chairman. What is the official language of the islands? 

Mr. Tirona. In the islands? 

The Chairman. What is the official language of the government? 

Mr. Tirona. The English language. 

The Chairman. English? 

Mr. Tirona. That is the official language of the government in 
the conduct of business correspondence—but Spanish—I beg pardon 
Spanish is the language spoken in both houses of the legislature, but 
in other branches of the government the English language is the 
most used, and is probably the official language for the other 
branches of the government. 

The Chairman. Suppose you had the independence of the islands, 
would you carry out the same policy of teaching English in the 
schools ? 

Mr. Tirona. Certainly, sir. We believe that the English lan¬ 
guage is a very useful language as a language of commerce; and 
besides that, those people who speak Spanish are very fond of 
speaking English, because they know the great convenience of 
knowing that language and having that language as the language of 
commerce. Before the war many goods made in Germany reached 
the islands bearing the trade mark “ made in Germany ”; and we 
have also receive some merchandise and goods from France and 
other foreign countries where English is not spoken, and which bear 
the label trade mark “ Made in Germany,” “ Made in France,” “ Made 
in Belgium.” 

Mr. Fletcher. Where did you learn English? 

Mr. Tirona. My English is very poor. I was taught in a Spanish 
school. That was controlled by the Jesuit fathers. During the 


56 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


time I was there I was taught English only one-half an hour every 
day during the school year of nine months. The professor would 
take one-half an hour each day explaining to us and the other half 
hour would be devoted to asking us questions, and since then, except 
in my practice of law, I have had no chance. I read English text¬ 
books because we want to improve our legal procedure. For ex¬ 
ample, the civil procedure and the criminal procedure of the Philip¬ 
pines and this country are almost the same, and a close study of 
your laws and decisions under them assist in a good interpretation 
of our laws in the Philippines. 

I also acquired some experience during the short time that I was 
in communication with the American officer commanding the forces 
of occupation in my town of Kawit. He needed the services 
of an interpreter and used my modest attainments, and I tried to 
speak it as well as possible. That sums up my experience in learning 
English. 

Mr. Watson. Are your textbooks in English? 

Mr. Tirona. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Watson. All English? 

Mr. Tirona. All except—you mean public schools, primary and 
intermediate ? 

Mr. Watson. Yes. 

Mr. Tirona. Primary, intermediate, and secondary schools, too, 
in the colleges as well, but in the civil courts, for example, the penal 
courts, they have to refer to some Spanish books because practically 
all our civil court has not yet been changed, so we must read the 
Spanish books to understand the very beginning, the inception of 
our substantive law. 

Mr. Watson. Has any political party devoted attention to the 
question of woman suffrage? 

Mr. Tirona. Unfortunately, none of those parties have devoted 
their attention to that matter, but I think that matter will be taken 
into consideration as a national question only. 

Mr. Watson. Your political parties, then, have not taken up that 
question ? 

Mr. Tirona. No, sir. 

Mr. Watson. Have they taken up the subject of prohibition? 

Mr. Tirona. There has been some effort tending to the enactment 
of a law providing for woman suffrage, but that law has not been 
enacted as yet. Some of the progressive element are in favor of it, 
but some of the conservatives are opposed to the adoption of woman 
suffrage just now, and some progressive tendency is trying to im¬ 
plant woman suffrage, and the progressive group can be subdivided 
into sections standing for a relative suffrage. For example, giving 
to the woman the right to vote but not the holding of a position 
requiring executive ability; for example, as a member of the lower 
house or upper house, member of a provincial council or municipal 
council, but not for a position requiring absence from home and 
abandonment of domestic affairs. So that the Philippine Legisla¬ 
ture has not yet enacted upon that matter because it is trying to 
get a true and proper reflection of the public opinion, and especially 
of the interested party. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 57 

STATEMENT OF MR. CAMILO OSIAS, MEMBER BUREAU OF EDU¬ 
CATION, MANILA, P. I. 

The Chairman. The members of the committee will be interested 
to know that the next person to address us is connected with the edu¬ 
cational system of the islands and from him they can get the educa¬ 
tional information which we have been seeking. 

Professor, the committee is going to sit for half an hour longer 
to-day in order to expedite matters. We will give you the time re¬ 
maining before adjournment. 

Mr. Osias. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, you 
have heard at length an exposition of the evolution of the political 
parties, and both the secretary of the interior, Mr. Palma, and the 
leader of the minority party, Mr. Tirona, have agreed that there are 
but two parties in the Philippines, but I represent the Union Party— 
the party of all the people, which recognizes no partisanship, and 
that is the educational party; and under the flag of that party all 
the members of the political parties are willing to march, side by 
side, even running a race as to which could support the educational 
party better than the other. 

Mr. Quezon, the chairman of the mission, read to you this morning 
a list of the members of the Philippine Mission. In that membership 
the attitude of the Filipino people toward education is reflected, be¬ 
cause it was shown in that body of men who came here to the United 
States, sent by the Filipino people, that education was well repre¬ 
sented. For example, the president of the mission and Secretary 
Palma are members of the board of regents of the University of the 
Philippines. We have Dean Bosobo and Dean Benitez, the heads of 
two colleges in the University of the Philippines. Besides that we 
have Mr. Santos and Mr. Kalaw and Mr. Luz, who are professors of 
the univers^, and myself, as having a modest share in the direction 
of our educational bureau in the Philippine Islands. 

Both President Quezon and Mr. Tirona spoke of the attitude of the 
Filipinos toward America, and the record of the Filipino people in 
this war. I shall simply add this: That the schools of the Philip¬ 
pines have been with you and have done not only their bit but their 
utmost to show the loyalty of the Filipino people toward the Ameri¬ 
can people in this war. We have a record which is, I think, un¬ 
equaled, or at least unexcelled, in any State of the Union in the 
membership of our teaching staff of the Red Cross—100 per cent. 
All the 14,000 teachers in the bureau of education teaching staff 
are members of the American Red Cross and 200,000 of our pupils 
are active members of the Junior Red Cross. And all of our girls 
engaged in industrial education were requested through the gen¬ 
eral office, and they responded readily and heartily, toward the 
modification of our industrial education so that they would make 
articles that would be of value to the soldiers—American soldiers in 
France. 

Senator Singson spoke to you about the great progress that has 
been made in economic lines. Gentlemen, in education we have recog¬ 
nized that the Filipino people are essentially undergoing an economic 
period at this time and have been awake to the necessity of shaping 
the educational policies of the Philippines so that it shall be respon- 


58 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


sive to the dominant and chief needs of the people. Secondly, I am 
happy to be able to report to you that education in the Philippine 
Islands has contributed materially and greatly to the economic 
growth of the Philippines. I shall be brief and shall mention a few 
of the contributions that have been made by the schools to the eco¬ 
nomic progress of the Philippine Islands. 

In the first place, the very definition of our education is defined 
in economic and moral terms and it was agreed in the directorate 
that the aim of education in the Philippine Islands should be to 
enable the future citizens of the Philippines to earn an honest liveli¬ 
hood and, secondly, to live a good life; so, you will see that even 
the aim of education is economic essentially. Our academic instruc¬ 
tion has contributed to our commercial progress by making English 
the medium of communication, the chief, and the only basis of in¬ 
struction, in the public schools, thus contributing to the evolution 
of the people, and of a universal language, the English language, 
the language of democracy, and the language of commerce the world 
over. Our educational system, I am proud to say, is not excelled— 
I am willing to go further, I think it is unequaled—in its organi¬ 
zation and in its graded system of vocational education by any sys¬ 
tem to be found anywhere. The young child begins to make things 
with his hands, begins to acquire the lessons of the dignity of labor, 
just as soon as he begins to read in school, that is to say, we have 
an industrial education that begins at the bottom or at the first grade. 
Right in this connection I wish to say that English is the basis of 
instruction in the Government schools. All the textbooks are in 
English. All the Filipino teachers, to say nothing of the American 
teachers, have to use English as the medium of instruction beginning 
from the first grade. 

The Chairman. At what age do you take the pupils? 

Mr. Osias. In most places about six or seven years—very much 
the same as it is in the United States. 

Another contribution, if you will let me proceed, Mr. Chairman, 
is that the Philippine public schools have inaugurated agricultural 
instruction. We realize that we are essentially an agricultural coun¬ 
try and, for that reason, we have emphasized the establishment of 
agricultural schools. We have organized intermediate farming 
courses, and for the nonchristian education the economic factor is 
a chief factor. 

In the framing of the curriculum, the physical education, of 
course, makes for the development of strong-bodied men and women, 
and that in itself is a great economic asset; and, may I just say m 
passing, that we have a physical education which in one way is 
unique, because the authorities both in the university and the bureau 
of education have resisted the everlasting temptation of developing 
a few stars and neglecting the many. There we do no such thing. 
We emphasize the physical education for everybody, and I can say 
authoritatively that 96 per cent of the enrollment of the public 
schools from the first grade up are active and regular participants 
in the physical educational program—of the seven or eight hundred 
thousand pupils, I say 96 per cent of those participate actively and 
regularly, under proper supervision, in the physical education of 
the Philippines. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


59 


We are aware also that all movements, all changes, all progress, 
national and international, have a direct bearing upon education. 
When the Jones law was passed with all its preamble and other 
provisions I had occasion to say in public and in writing that the 
passage of that law by the Congress of the United States necessitated 
a reshaping in the minds of responsible educational authority of the 
aims of education, so that it shall respond to the national change 
and when we shall take any steps toward making us a republic it, 
too, shall necessitate a reshaping so that there shall be a readjust¬ 
ment of the aims of education to the dominant and chief tendencies 
of the age. 

It might be proper for me, as a person engaged in education, to 
state 10 points, which I shall do very briefly, giving my reasons why 
I, in common with the rest of the mission, favor independence. I 
shall read them just as fast as I can to save time: 

I. I desire, first of all, to see the Philippines free and independent, because 
I believe that virility of manhood and nationhood comes best through inde¬ 
pendence and self-reliance. 

II. I desire Philippine independence because I believe that the highest self- 
realization, both of an individual and of a people, is best attained through 
freedom. 

III. I desire Philippine independence because as a member of the directorate 
of education, with a modest share in shaping the destinies of our Nation 
and in molding the character of its citizenry, I wish to know definitely the 
character that we must mold, the kind of patriotism we must inculcate, the 
type of national institutions we must establish, and the type of country for 
which Filipinos must be taught to labor, love, and die. 

IV. I believe in our national independence because patriotism of the highest 
type is impossible without a “ patria ”—a country. 

V. I desire our independence that we, too, may have our own flag, the flag 
that has been the inspiration of heroes and martyrs without number, the 
symbol of our country and everything that is dear to the Filipino heart. 

VI. I believe in our national independence because of our instinctive pas¬ 
sion for freedom and because it is the unanimous demand of our people, in the 
firm belief that liberty is more precious than life itself, and that national 
independence is essential and necessary to their highest welfare and to their 
best interests. 

VII. I believe in Philippine independence because as a man engaged in edu¬ 
cation I know that it will give those charged with the direction of our educa¬ 
tional system a more definite and concrete basis for redefining education 
and for a more permanent readjustment of the aims, content, and method of 
our education. 

VIII. I. believe in Philippine independence because it will give added in¬ 
centive to our national endeavors, motivating our educational problems and 
vitalizing our individual and national life. 

IX. The Filipino people desire Philippine independence “ in order that by 
the application of their own genius they can develop their national life, 
produce the highest fruits by which they by their efforts are capable,” to use 
the words of the Secretary of War on that memorable date—April 4, 1919— 
when the Philippine mission formally presented on behalf of the people the 
question of their national independence to the Government and people of the 
United States. 

X. We deem the granting of our independence imperative so that we may the 
better be in a position to develop that type of nationalism compatible with the 
new type of cosmopolitanism or internationality. 

At the request of the chairman of the commission I shall furnish 
some statistical data. We have 14,000 teachers in the Philippines 
in the bureau of education, about 400 of whom are Americans and 
the rest are Filipinos. We have over 5,000 schools, primary, inter¬ 
mediary, and secondary. There are 42 secondary schools, each 


60 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


province having at least one high school or a secondary school estab¬ 
lished in its capital, and we have an enrollment of something like 
700,000 children up to this time, but an epoch-making piece of 
legislation will make it possible for us during the next five years to 
educate or to give an opportunity of education to every Filipino* 
child of school age, not only in the regularly organized provinces but 
also in the special provinces, the meaning of which term was ex¬ 
plained by Secretary Palma. 

I should like to mention some -of the results of our educational 
work. I shall take the liberty of quoting some of the opinions of 
outside observers regarding the educational system established in 
the Philippine Islands, which has deservedly merited the commenda¬ 
tion of impartial observers who have come to make a survey of our 
schools. After a visit in the Philippines by the assistant director 
of education of the Straits Settlement, he wrote to his country and 
recommended to his government the adoption of the educational 
system we have in the Philippine Islands, the system of the home 
and school gardening and the adoption of a system of agricultural 
instruction patterned after the Central Luzon Agricultural School, 
which is a monument of the system of education established in the- 
Philippines. 

Prof. Monroe, of Columbia University, whom you will know is an 
authority on the history of education, came to the Philippine Islands 
and made a survey of our educational institutions, and he left the- 
country leaving a report which has benefited us greatly and which 
closes with the following words, which should be an inspiration not 
only to the Filipinos but to the Americans as well. He said: 

It seems probable to an observer that greater educational progress has been 
made in the Philippine Islands in 10 or 12 years than in any similar period' 
or in any place in the history of education. 

It seems providential that less than one hour before I was told to 
appear here I should receive one of the latest publications in tho 
Philippines which discusses at length the public schools by the 
American most qualified to speak on the question, Dr. W. W. Mar- 
quardt, the present director of education. He closes with the fol¬ 
lowing paragraph: 

The system of education established in the Philippine Islands by Americans 
is destined to remain and to exert its influence throughout the Far East. The 
Filipino people can be relied upon to continue, with the help of American 
teachers, the most important work that the United States has undertaken in* 
the Philippine Islands—a work unique in conception, successful beyond ex¬ 
pectation, and influential in the development of the Far East; a work that 
owes its past, its present, and its future to the cooperation of the Americans 
and Filipinos. 

Let me state in passing that whatever may be the vicissitudes of 
the future, whatever may be the political steps to be taken by this 
Government, I know the Filipino people will not suffer the torch of 
education to be put out or be dimmed, and that the use of the Eng¬ 
lish language will continue to be the basis of instruction in our 
public-school system even though we were to become independent 
to-morrow. Although I am not gifted as a prophet, I do not think 
it takes a prophet to foresee this—within a few more years we shall; 
be communicating with you, as in fact we are beginning now to do„ 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 61 

in the same language which you are speaking, in the language of 
democracy—Anglo-Saxon. 

Further evidences—I have not exceeded my time, Mr. Chairman— 
further evidences- 

The Chairman (interposing). I will say to you that your pre¬ 
sentation is exceedingly interesting, and if you find it inconsistent 
or inconvenient to limit yourself to the time we will take adjourn¬ 
ment and meet to-morrow. There is no disposition to limit your 
presentation. I only wanted to know whether you would be able to 
complete your statement before we adjourned, because if not we will 
be very glad to have you finish it to-morrow. 

Mr. Osias. I spoke less than 30 minutes, and I think I can, Mr. 
Chairman- 

The Chairman. I do not want you to misunderstand me. I do not 
want you to feel pressed for time. Your presentation is highly in¬ 
teresting to me, and I am sure it is to every other member of the 
committee, and if you are not able to conclude in the next few min¬ 
utes, and I do not suppose you will be, I think we better take ad¬ 
journment until to-morrow, and you can resume at that time. I 
think probably that is the sentiment of the committee that this is a 
good place to break off this evening. 

Mr. Osias. I am willing to leave it to you. We want to show that 
we have the capacity for self-government by adjusting ourselves 
to your wishes—it is just as you wish. 

The Chairman. Then the committee will stand adjourned until 
10.30 a. m. to-morrow. You can resume at that time, but we do not 
w^ant to cut you off. 

(Whereupon at 4.30 p. m. o’clock the hearing was adjourned until 
10.30 a. m. o’clock Tuesday, June 3, 1919.) 


Committee on the Philippines, 

United States Senate, 
Committee on Insular Affairs, 

House of Representatives, 

Tuesday , June 1919. 

The committee met at 10.30 o’clock a. m., Hon. Horace M. Towner 
(chairman) presiding. 

The Chairman. The hearings before the joint committee of the 
House and Senate will now be resumed. Whom will you present 
first, Mr. Quezon? 

Mr. Quezon. Mr. Osias, assistant director of education. 

STATEMENT OF MR. C. OSIAS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF EDUCA¬ 
TION, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

Mr. Osias. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, yesterday we touched 
very brieflv on the recognition of education in the membership of 
the mission, a little bit of the work of the schools during the world 
war. something of the contribution of education to economic prog¬ 
ress, and I mentioned 10 points which, from the standpoint of edu¬ 
cation, would seem to be valid arguments in favor of independence. 




62 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


I mentioned the fact that all important legislation of national scope 
must of necessity have a bearing upon education. I mentioned the 
opinions of three men, one the representative of the government of 
the Straits Settlements, one by Prof. Monroe, and one by the Ameri¬ 
can best qualified to speak on the educational system of the Philip¬ 
pines, Dr. Marquard, the present director of education. 

I know that the teachers and the Filipino children in particular 
will be pleased to know the attitude of the committee in deciding to 
hear more about the educational system implanted in the Philippine' 
Islands. 

Yesterday I tried to demonstrate that in the opinion of impartial 
observers the educational system of the Philippine Islands is a dis¬ 
tinct success. This success is due to the excellent spirit of coopera¬ 
tion on the part of Americans and Filipinos. I venture to state in 
outline form the prime factors responsible for the success obtained in 
the Philippine Islands. Among these I will mention, briefly, the 
following: 

First, the whole-souled support of education on the part of the 
Filipino people. 

Second, the unanimous support of officials, Americans and Fili¬ 
pinos, irrespective of parties. 

Third, the spirit of service on the part of the people who are serv¬ 
ing the cause of education, both among Americans and Filipinos. 

Fourth, promotion in the service on the basis of merit rather than 
on political pull. 

I wish to pause in this connection simply to state that we have an 
executive regulation whereby the recommendation of a member of the 
teaching staff for promotion on the part of a politician is sufficient 
cause for denying that promotion. 

Finally, the control of the system of education by educators and 
its freedom from politics. I think I am in a position to say, after my 
trip of investigation of the most important institutions of this coun¬ 
try, visiting practically every State in the Union as a representative 
of the Philippine Government to make an educational investigation,, 
that we have in the Philippine Islands a system of education far 
freer from politics than any State, city, or national system that can 
be found anywhere. 

Fifth, the principle of industrial efficiency has been applied in the 
administration of our schools. 

Seventh, the centralized control and at the same time the preserva¬ 
tion of the democratic spirit within the ranks, thus maintaining an 
excellent esprit de corps. 

And, lastly, the success of the educational system in the Philippine 
Islands is due to our comparative freedom, or absolute freedom, from 
fossilized traditions, we might say, that would stand in the way as 
obstacles in the path of progress. 

I would like, now, to give concrete data on the schools and what 
they are doing, especially in the line of agricultural education and 
economic production. The agricultural schools that we have are 
boarding schools, where pupils are subsisted by the Government. 
The purpose of the Government is, in part, not only to develop agri¬ 
cultural education, but to foster the settlement of unoccupied lands- 
We had 17 such agricultural schools in 1917. In the last two sessions. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


63 


of the Philippine Legislature further provision financially has been 
made for the increase of the number of such agricultural schools, 
which agricultural schools have lands as much as 500 or 600 hectares— 
somebody will have to reduce that in terms of acres, as we use the 
metric system in the Philippines, which is the more scientific one. 

Mr. Garrett. A little over 2 acres. 

Mr. Osias. Yes; I think so. We have IT such agricultural schools, 
I say. We have farm schools which offer free courses to boys num¬ 
bering 11, and this number is constantly increasing. 

We had settlement farm schools, over 100 in number—104, to be 
more exact—in 1917. These settlement farm schools are chiefly or¬ 
ganized in sparsely populated districts, and especially among the so- 
called non-Christian population of the Philippines. I shall speak 
more about that when I discuss the education of the non-Christians. 

I will proceed to say that we have agricultural clubs of both boys 
and girls, where the boys and girls are taught to manage their own 
affairs by keeping adequate records, by engaging in several types of 
contests, and home projects, among them poultry projects, pig con¬ 
tests, fruit-tree contests, and cooking contests, etc. 

In addition to these, we are also actively in cooperation with the 
bureau of health and the other entities of our government in better- 
babies contest. So you see that our education there in the Philippine 
Islands covers a broad field, all activities of life, you might say. 
Our education runs from pigs to kids. We have also in our system 
of industrial education a graded system of handicraft courses where 
in the primary the school children are given an opportunity to try 
out several lines of activities whereby manual skill and industrial 
intelligence and industrial sympathy may be acquired. And last 
year our handicraft orders from several firms of this country 
amounted to over P300,000. These handicraft courses consist of 
embroidery, filet lace, basketry, bamboo and rattan furniture, and 
trade schools furniture. And speaking of trade-school products, I 
am glad to be able to say that our schools of arts and trades in the 
Philippines, according to the latest available data, produced work 
amounting to 1^212,970. 

In addition to these agricultural and art and trade activities, we 
are fostering the development of commercial schools. We have at 
present commercial schools in Manila which have been in operation 
for several years. A few years ago a commercial school was organ¬ 
ized in Iloilo, and last year the directorate decided to open another 
commercial school in the northern region, to be located in Vigan. 

The University of the Philippines is offering courses in commerce 
and administration. We are developing commercial schools just as 
fast as available funds permit the organization of commercial courses. 

It might be of interest to know that even under the Spanish regime 
we had secondary commercial courses that led to the development of 
men who attained degrees. 

I mentioned the fact that English is the sole basis of instruction 
throughout our public-school system. It was also mentioned before 
the committee yesterday that even in the private schools English is 
the chief, and in many of them the sole, basis of instruction, especially 
in those schools which have been recognized by the Government. 
These private schools, recognized by the government, are under the 


64 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


department of public instruction, and there is a superintendent in 
charge of this particular phase of the work as a direct representative 
of the secretary of public instruction. 

In the last report of the director of education, he spoke of English 
to be the official language at an early date. He said that although 
the Philippine school system was establish less than 20 years ago a 
surprisingly large number of young men brought up in public 
schools have already taken a prominent part in the execution and in 
the shaping of governmental affairs. And I shall ask permission 
from the chairman and the gentlemen of the committee to insert as 
part of my remarks a few of the names of men who are specifically 
mentioned as taking an active part in government affairs. 

The Chairman. You will hand that to the reporter? 

Mr. Osias. Yes. 

I shall not tire the committee by reading it, except the closing. 
After speaking of the number of men now occupying responsible 
positions who have been trained under the English system—or rather 
under the English language—and after speaking of the develop¬ 
ment of periodicals wherein the English writers have an increasingly 
large number of readers, he closes in the following words: “ The 
handwriting is on the wall. English is destined to become the official 
language at an early date.” 

(The paper referred to follows:) 

“ ENGLISH TO BE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE AT AN EARLY DATE.” 

Although the Philippine public-school system was established less than 20 
years ago, a surprisingly large number of young men brought up in public 
schools have already taken a prominent part in the execution and in the shap¬ 
ing of governmental affairs. 

A few of these young men are: Camilo Osias, a graduate of Columbia Uni¬ 
versity, now second assistant director of education; Francisco Benitez, a 
graduate of Columbia University, dean of the College of Education of the 
University of the Philippines; Victoriano Yamzon, a graduate of the University 
of the Philippines, instructor in public speaking at the University of the Phil¬ 
ippines, vice president of the Manila Merchants’ Association, and a successful 
practicing attorney; Jose Abad Santos, a graduate of George Washington 
University, lecturer on jurisprudence in the College of Law of the University 
of the Philippines, and attorney for the Philippine National Bank; Mariano H. 
de Joy a, a graduate of Yale, associate professor of remedial law and director 
of the legal clinic of the University of the Philippines, and a successful prac¬ 
ticing attorney; Jose Sanvictores, a graduate of the University of Illinois, as¬ 
sistant director of the bureau of agriculture; Sotero Baluyot, a graduate of 
Iowa State University, and Yaleriano Segura, a graduate of Purdue Univer¬ 
sity, both district engineers of the bureau of public works; Romarico Agcaoili, 
a graduate of Cornell University, locating engineer of the Manila Railroad 
Co.; Jose Gil, a graduate of the College of Law of the University of the Philip¬ 
pines, secretary of the Philippine University; Juan F. Hilario, a graduate of 
the University of Illinois, secretary of the immigration board of the bureau of 
customs; Conrado Benitez, a graduate of Chicago University, dean of the 
College of Liberal Arts of the University of the Philippines, and editor of the 
Citizen, one of the most influential of the English weekly papers published in 
Manila; Alejandro de Guzman, a graduate of the University of the Philip¬ 
pines, chairman of the committee on public instruction in the house of repre¬ 
sentatives; Pablo Lorenzo, a graduate of the University of the Philippines, 
member of the house of representatives, and member of the board of regents 
of the University of the Philippines; Elpidio Quirino, a graduate of the Uni¬ 
versity of the Philippines, secretary to the president of the senate; Jorge B. 
Vargas, a graduate of the University of the Philippines, secretary to the speaker 
of the house of representatives; Jorge Bocobo, a graduate of Indiana Univer¬ 
sity, dean of the College of Law of the University of the Philippines; Leandro 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


65 


Fernandez, a graduate of Tri-State Law College at Angola, Ind., and of the 
University of Chicago, associate professor of history in the University of the 
Philippines, and author of the Philippine history used in the public schools; 
Antonio de las Alas, a graduate of the University of Indiana and of Yale 
University, assistant chief of the executive bureau; Maximo Kalaw, a graduate 
of. George Washington University, associate professor of political science in the 
University of the Philippines, and author of “The Case for the Filipinos”; 
Honorio Poblador, a graduate of College of the Pacific and of California; 
Candido M. Alcazar, a graduate of Silliman Institute, and who has had two 
years’ work in mechanical engineering in the United States; Antonio Nera, a 
graduate of De Kalb Normal; and Leodegario Victorino, a graduate of the 
University of the Philippines, all of whom are division superintendents of 
schools in the bureau of education, in which positions they have great influence 
in the education of the coming generation. Scores of names might be added to 
this list, which in itself is conclusive evidence of the influence of this generation 
of progressive English-speaking Filipinos who are graduates of the public 
schools. In them American democratic ideals unite with Filipino aspirations 
and with Filipino ambitions in producing a group of youthful leaders who are 
destined to play a still greater part in Philippine progress. 

The role of the prophet is unsafe, but it can be predicted confidently that the 
next legislature will include far more English-speaking members than ever be¬ 
fore. The reduction of the age required for the exercise of political franchise 
'from 23 to 21 will mean an influx of public-school graduates of the last five 
years into political life instead of the three-year crop, which would be the normal 
influx since the last election three years ago. It is prophesied that in three more 
years the majority of the members of both houses will be English-speaking, and 
the use of English in the legislature will be increased accordingly. 

The postponement from time to time of the making of English the official 
language of the Philippine Government has caused the supporters of the use of 
English much apprehension. It is admitted that the making of English the 
official language would hasten its spread and would enlarge its use. It is ques¬ 
tionable, however, as to whether such a hastening process would compensate for 
the attendant confusion in courtrooms and in legislative halls and for the 
necessary loss of valuable men in the Government service who have been trained 
only in Spanish. In some Provinces English has already replaced Spanish as 
the social language. The present attendance of more than 600,000 pupils at 
English-speaking schools, and the provision made for the doubling of this num¬ 
ber within the next five years, insures the ultimate triumph of English over the 
use of Spams'll. The number of English periodicals with little or no circulation 
other than among Filipinos is indicative of the trend of events; the handwriting 
is on the wall—English is destined to become the official language at an early 
date. 

I may add that when the secretary of the interior was acting secre¬ 
tary of public instruction, he wrote a document which is the most im¬ 
portant allegation ever uttered by any official of the Philippine Gov¬ 
ernment in favor of the continuation of English as the basis of in¬ 
struction, whatever may be the vicissitudes of the future. 

One very encouraging result which has directly come out of the 
education system in the Philippines is the wonderful reduction in 
illiteracy. According to the last official reports taken by the Govern¬ 
ment—because we are taking a census now—and I think it has been 
completed—it has been found that the percentage of illiteracy in the 
Philippines to-day, including all the inhabitants of the Philippines, 
Christians and non-Christians, is only 30 per cent, and this per cent 
of illiteracy is only 1 per cent higher than the per cent of illiteracy 
in one of your States, that of Louisiana. 

I shall now briefly make two statements regarding the role of edu¬ 
cation as an agency in unifying the people of the Philippines, non- 
Christians and Christians alike. I shall make the statement that 
probably no single agency at work in the Philippines to-day is a 
greater factor making for solidarity in the Philippines and among 


122031—19-5 



66 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


the inhabitants of the islands than education. We have a system of 
athletics that starts from the class, then gradually broadens out into 
the interclass contests, interschool contests, interdistrict contests, in¬ 
terprovincial contests, and finally we have an annual national series 
of contests in Manila, where all of the inhabitants of the Philippines 
are represented, thus making for unity. Further than that, the edu¬ 
cation, through its system of athletics, has a great democratizing in¬ 
fluence, because you know that in the baseball diamond or on the 
playground the rich and the poor stand on an equal footing. 

I would like to say just a word, Mr. Chairman, about the work 
that is being done in the education of the non-Christian inhabitants 
of the Philippines. The Filipinized Government enacted a law 
touching upon the management of the non-Christians, creating a 
bureau especially for that purpose. The wording of that law defines 
the purpose of the bureau in the following manner: 

It shall be the duty of the bureau of non-Christians to continue the work for 
advancement and liberty in favor of the regions inhabited by non-Christian 
Filipinos, and foster by all adequate means, and in a systematic, rapid, and 
complete manner, the moral, material, economic, social, and political develop- # 
ment of those regions, always having in view the aim of rendering permanent 
the mutual intelligence between, and complete fusion of, the Christian and non- 
Christian elements populating the provinces of the archipelago. 

We have evolved especially prepared and adapted courses for the 
non-Christian schools. When I was a division superintendent of 
schools in the Province of Bataan, I had direct charge of the organi¬ 
zation of one of the schools for the most backward people in the 
Philippines—the Negritos—and here is the course I prescribed for 
them: Bathing and cleaning, play and exercise, and the three R’s. 

In Chicago I saw a sign, while I was riding on the street car, in 
front of one of the churches, and after a great big letter S were the 
three words: “ Soup, soap, salvation.” Now, I was pleased by that 
sign, because that was just the spirit governing the education of the 
non-Christians. We promote the lesson of self-support; we stress 
hygiene and sanitation; we inculcate in them foresight for the future; 
we prescribe the planting of fruit trees that shall be more or less per¬ 
manent ; we promote the taking care of pigs, more to induce them to 
settle more permanently and change their nomadic form of life. 

I had also the opportunity of being a division superintendent of 
schools in Mindoro, where the Manyans are located. The Manvans 
are among the backward or non-Christian peoples—neither term is 
quite satisfactory, but we have to use them—population of the Philip¬ 
pines. We have several schools in Mindoro, some managed by the bu¬ 
reau of education, some under the direct control of the department of 
f he interior in cooperation with the department of public instruction. 
Tn the department of Mindinao and Sulu, under the charge of Gov. 
Carpenter, wonderful progress has been made in education. We 
have now over 250 schools among the inhabitants heretofore consid¬ 
ered recalcitrant in our population. The testimony of Gov. Carpenter 
is eloquent, showing the gratifying results attained in the education 
of the non-Christian, pagan, and Mohammedan population of the 
Philippines. He says, “The organization and extension of public 
schools throughout non-Christian territory during the year (1917) 
have continued, and to a practically corresponding degree have been 
the extension and strengthening of government control.” He also 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


67 


recognizes “ the fundamental importance and predominant influence 
of public schools in the success of the policy of the present govern¬ 
ment in Mohammedan and pagan territory.” He also deems, and 
rightly, that the public schools constitute “ the chief element of 
power and permanent constructive value to which all other activities 
of government in non-Christian territory are supplementary or 
auxiliary.” 

I am proud to be able to say that in the Moro Land, where soldiers 
were said to have been somewhat afraid to go, we have sent out mis¬ 
sionaries of education, and during the last five years, gentlemen, not a 
single teacher Avas molested. Patriotic teachers have gone into the 
remotest territories, heretofore considered inaccessible, and the people, 
even in those regions, have responded nobly to the cause of education. 

We have in the bureau of education evolved a course of study which 
is a balanced course of study, embracing the academic, the industrial, 
the athletic, and the social phases. And we are trying, as best we 
can—and I think we are succeeding—to maintain an equilibrium of all 
these four phases of the course of study, overemphasizing none to the 
detriment of another, so that there may be an all-around treatment. 

I have already mentioned the fact that we have a variety of activi¬ 
ties. We have corn demonstrations; we have garden days; and it 
might be added that under the stress of the present war we have 
doubled the number of school and home gardens; we have trebled the 
area under cultivation, and the production has been multiplied prac¬ 
tically fourfold. 

We must not forget the education of girls, the women. In the Phil¬ 
ippines the woman exercises a great influence, not only in domestic 
but public affairs. Her voice goes a long way. Le Roy, in his book 
entitled “ Life in Town and Country,” says, in substance, that the 
Filipino woman occupies a unique position among oriental women. 
In fact, I may add, that in one respect at least the Filipino woman 
occupies a unique position among women the world over. She is the 
only woman that is the family banker. She manages the finances, 
even the finances probably of the members of this mission. 

We have domestic science courses, housekeeping, household arts 
courses, and recently we established high-school courses in domestic 
science, which I am sure will tend to increase the number of girls in 
our schools. Another point. One of the most gratifying results in our 
education is observed in the increase of girls in the higher courses. 
Of course, you know that we have coeducation in the entire system of 
education in the Philippines. We segregate them when they reach 
the age of maturity for the activities where they should be segregated, 
as in games, etc. _ 

The director of education on this point speaks as follows: 

The continued increasing proportion of girls to boys in the higher grades is 
another source of intense satisfaction. During the Spanish regime coeducation 
was not known in the Philippines, although the woman of the Philippines holds 
a far higher place in society than do the women of any other oriental country. 
The idea of coeducation was somewhat revolutionary, and it was some time 
before it was generally accepted. Even after accepted it was found difficult to 
keep the girls in school until they finished the primary grades. Statistics show, 
however, that during the past five years the boys in intermediate schools in¬ 
creased 82 per cent, where the attendance of girls increased 222 per cent. In 
the high schools the attendance of boys increased 250 per cent, and the attend¬ 
ance of girls 267 per cent. 


68 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


I shall now touch upon one part further, and I shall stop. I wish 
before closing to refer to the attitude of the people toward educa¬ 
tion; to the attitude of the legislative and executive branches of the 
Government. The parents of children in the Philippines make all 
sorts of sacrifices for their children, that they may have the oppor¬ 
tunity to attend schools. They have voluntarily made gifts in labor, 
in material, and in money. It is a matter of record that the first law 
passed by the Filipinos was simply one appropriating 1,000,000 
pesos for barrio schools—rural schools. 

And, lastly, a great step was taken in furthering the cause of 
education by acts of the Filipino Legislature, and in cooperation 
with the chief executive of the Philippines. 

The University of the Philippines last year received an appropria¬ 
tion which far exceeds any former appropriation. The annual ap¬ 
propriation for the bureau of education exceeds by 3,000,000 pesos 
any former yearly appropriation. Besides this, 30,000,000 pesos were 
set aside in order that we may evolve a system of elementary educa¬ 
tion which is absolutely free, thus enabling us in the course of six or 
seven years—five or six years, perhaps—to give an opportunity of 
education to every child of school age, in the Philippines, free in 
the elementary schools. This appropriation is epoch-making in the 
history of our government and of our education. 

I can do no better than to request the insertion of the comments 
of Acting Governor General Yeater in his cable to the War Depart¬ 
ment, speaking of the work of the Philippine Legislature during the 
session just ended, and especially that part which has to do with 
this particular act of the legislature and the new schools to be estab¬ 
lished. I shall take the liberty to read only one short paragraph 
of this comment of Acting Governor Yeater, who is also the secre¬ 
tary of public instruction. He says: 

The most important measure, in my judgment, is that by which over 30,- 
000,000 pesos was appropriated for the extension of universal free education 
to all the children of the islands. This act is of prime importance not only 
because it provides funds for a term of years sufficient to extend a primary 
education of several grades to all the children of school age but also because 
it enables the bureau of education to prepare and carry into execution a com¬ 
plete and systematic development of the existing complete educational plan, 
which lacks only extension over the entire field. 

I wish to invite your attention to the last sentence, which I shall 
read: 

Furthermore, it is a means of incalculable value for the welfare of the Fili¬ 
pino people, since it will banish illiteracy, establish permanently English as 
the common language of the land, afford a firm foundation for democratic in¬ 
struction, and insure order and stability to the insular government. 

(The article referred to follows:) 

UNIVERSAL FREE EDUCATION. 

The most important measure, in my judgment, is that by which over 30,- 
000,000 pesos was appropriated for the extension of universal free education 
to all the children of the islands. This act is of prime importance, not only 
because it provides funds for a term of years sufficient to extend a primary 
education of seven grades to all the children of school age, but also because 
it enables the bureau of education to prepare and carry into execution a com¬ 
plete and systematic development of the existing excellent educational plan, 
which lacked only extension over the entire field. Furthermore, it is a means 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


69 


of incalculable value tor the welfare of the Filipino people, since it will 
banish illiteracy, establish permanently English as the common language of 
the land, afford a firm foundation for democratic institutions, and insure order 
and stability to the insular government. 


INSURES FIRM AND ORDERLY GOVERNMENT. 

The adoption of this thoroughly American educational measure will tend 
greatly to lift the moral responsibility incumbent on the United States to 
secure a firm and orderly government, and aside from the differences of opinion 
which may have existed among American statesmen in the past it has been 
advocated by all Americans from the beginning of the occupation that uni¬ 
versal free education of the masses should be an essential characteristic of 
our national policy in the Philippines. Inasmuch as when Congress consid¬ 
ered paragraph 2, the acts of July 1, 19, and of August 29, 1916, much dis¬ 
cussion was had about the political capacity of the Philippines, I feel that I 
discharge a duty of conscience to call your attention to the fact that this en¬ 
lightened measure was passed by the legislative department of the govern¬ 
ment, which, as you know, is composed entirely of Filipinos. By this law 
of universal free education the all-Philippine Legislature in the last two years 
has provided for doubling the quantity of the educational work effected in 
almost two decades of previous American occupation. Under the financial 
support previously given it was necessary to turn away from the doors of 
the schoolhouse one-half of all the children of the islands. In five years all 
the children of the land will receive educational advantages. Besides this, 
the salaries of all municipal teachers will be increased 30 per cent. 

NEW SCHOOLS ESTABLISHED. 

In addition, I direct attention to the fact that at the session of 1917-18, 
two normal schools were established and two more were established at the 
session just adjourned, all to be located by the secretary of public instruction, 
making, w ith two already existing, six such schools; also four agricultural 
schools w’ere established in the session of 1917-18, and three more this year, 
making 17 in all. The college of agriculture has just had its appropriation 
largely increased, and an experiment station has been established in connec¬ 
tion with it. The appropriation of this year for the university far exceeds 
any former appropriation. In addition to all this, the appropriation to the 
bureau of education for this current calendar year exceeds by 3,000.000 pesos 
any former appropriation. Furthermore, legislative appropriation w^as made 
for pensioning 150 young men and women to be trained as specialists in the 
colleges of American and elsewhere, and they are expected to sail in August 
next. 

The heroic and unselfish work of Amrican teachers, many of w 7 hom lost life 
or health, deserves and should receive the very highest praise, but it would 
be particularly unjust and unfair for me as head of the department of public 
instruction not to recognize and make known the work of Filipinos in this 
regard. Of the present teaching force of over 14,000, less than 3 per cent are 
Americans. The number of American teachers is gradually growing less as 
Filipino teachers are trained to take the important positions which they hold. 

The Chairman. Just what other languages besides English are 
taught in the schools? 

Mr. Osias. I said the only language of instruction in the primary 
and intermediate, both of which comprise* the elementary school 
system, is English and nothing but English. The secondary schools 
teach English altogether, except in the last two years of the high 
school, where Spanish may be taught as an optional subject in the 
third and fourth years. In the university English is also the lan¬ 
guage of instruction. There are representatives of the university 
here who are in a better position to speak on that subject than I. 

The Chairman. Where the schools are established in Provinces 
or districts where they have the* native dialect is that dialect not 
taught ? 


70 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Mr. Osias. No, sir; the teaching of English makes it possible to 
send teachers from any part of the Archipelago to any other part 
of the Archipelago, thus making not only for the establishment of a 
language which shall be universal, as mentioned by the director 
in the quotation I made, but which will also serve to unify the 
people and put us in communication with one another and with the 
rest of the world, especially the business world. 

Mr. Hersey. Before you sit down, will you explain in what way, 
if any, the United States control of the Philippines to-day has 
hindered or obstructed your religious or educational progress, or 
if you had your independence, in what way would it benefit your 
educational system or help you any ? 

Mr. Osias. I will answer your question in reverse order. I think 
the 10 points I enumerated "yesterday will answer the last part of 
your question in the way it will benefit the people educationally. I 
shall mention this only, that it will tend to make us feel that the na¬ 
tionalization policy of the schools is a thing that is right and recog¬ 
nized as right by us and by the outside world. And, furthermore, 
it will also give a concrete basis for those charged with the direction 
of the educational system to define education in terms of Filipino 
character, so that we may evolve an educational system where we may 
get the best that is foreign and graft it on the best that is Philippine. 

Now, with respect to the question of religion I shall simpty say 
that the United States Government has not been a hindrance nor an 
obstacle to the religious growth nor to the educational growth. In 
fact, I can go further: The United States Government has been a 
positive benefit to religion and especially education, as I think I 
have tried to demonstrate both in yesterday’s testimony and to-day’s 
testimony. Now, on the question regarding religion, I should say 
that even in the short-lived Filipino Republic it was demonstrated 
that the Filipino people have always craved religious freedom, and 
it is eloquent, gentlemen, that that constitutional convention at 
Malolos, composed of men schooled under the influence of the Catho¬ 
lic religion, meeting in a church—a Catholic church—succeeded in 
including as one of the provisions of that Malolos constitution, the 
matter of religious freedom and the absolute separation of the State 
and church. Now, the United States Government has been a benefit 
because it continued and maintained that—and may I say that it 
shall be continued and maintained under an independent government 
in the Philippines. Do you want me to answer further? 

Mr. Hersey. Well, I am not very clear in my mind yet in what 
way your independence would benefit your religious system and your 
educational system. 

Mr. Osias. Independence will at least continue the development 
of religion and education, offering equal opportunity to all. 

Mr. Hersey. You would go right on the way you are going now, 
wouldn’t you? 

Mr. Osias. Yes, sir; certainly. Progress will be continued, and 
the presence of different denominations will bring about a spirit of 
competition upon all denominations, thus giving us the best that is 
in them—or tending to give us the best that is in them. 

Senator Hale. If you get your freedom, do you think English will 
continue to be taught in the schools? 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


71 


Mr. Osias. Oh, yes, Senator, as sure as I am standing here to-day. 
We can’t go back. All of our teachers are teaching in English. We 
couldn’t transfer teachers from one place to another if we go back 
or change the system, very well. And, gentlemen, we have gone alto¬ 
gether to far to think of making radical change. That would be a 
distinct retrogression. 

Mr. Fairfield. From your statement that 30,000,000 pesos have 
been appropriated in order to extend the educational system one 
might infer that thus far you have not reached all the children of 
school age. 

Mr. Osias. You are right; yes, sir. 

Mr. Fairfield. What proportion of the children of school age are 
now having free elementary instruction? 

Mr. Osias. About 55 to 60 per cent. 

Senator Harding. I am very much interested in your reference to 
the growing number of girls in your schools. What is the practice 
of the Filipino as to the age of marrying ? How early do your women 
marry ? 

Mr. Osias. Oh, I would say anywhere from 18, to *25. The average 
would be found somewhere between these figures. 

Senator Harding. About the same as it is here. 

Mr. Osias. I might say, Senator, that I think I am right when I 
state that the system of education has tended to raise the age of 
marrying. 

Senator Harding. Didn’t you notice at one time, or was it not the 
practice at one time to marry at 15 ? 

Mr. Osias. There were cases where they married at that age. 

Senator Harding. But it was not the general practice? 

Mr. Osias. It was*not the general practice; we are distinct from 
other oriental countries in that respect again, Senator. 

The Chairman. Unless there are other questions that the joint 
committee desires to ask, we certainly appreciate the very excellent 
statement that you have made, Mr. Osias. 

Mr. Osias. I am sure that the mission, Mr. Chairman, are appreci¬ 
ative of this opportunity, and I know that the Filipino people will be 
appreciative of your society. 

I thank you. 

The Chairman. You can say to the educational people of your 
islands, especially to those who are immediately connected with the 
common-school system, that the educational people of the United 
States are very proud, indeed, of the progress that has been made in 
the Philippines. We are proud of your people, because they have 
adopted American system of education, the common-school system of 
education, we are proud of them, because they have made under it 
the most remarkable progress that any nation has ever made in edu¬ 
cation under similar circumstances. The United States is indebted 
to you, because you really first demonstrated that vocational educa¬ 
tion and home economics could be made practically universal in the 
primary and elementary grades, as a part of the regular curriculum. 
There has not been, I presume, an address delivered by an educational 
man in favor of either one vocational work on home economies that 
are now so generally engrafted on our system of education, in which 
the instance of the progress made by the Filipinos is not cited. So 


72 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


you can tell your people that the United States are very glad indeed 
to learn of your progress. 

Mr. Osias. I will be most happy to tell them that, Mr. Chairman. 
Thank you. 

Mr. Quezon. Mr. Chairman, in my statement yesterday I said that 
the mission sent to the United States by the legislature was truly 
representative, composed of men of all walks of life. I wish to add 
that this mission is also very representative in that it shows the dif¬ 
ferent dialects spoken in the Philippines. We presented to you yes¬ 
terday members of the mission w T ho spoke one kind of English, and 
to-day we are going to present to .you those Avho really speak English, 
Mr. Bocobo, Mr. Benitez, Mr. Santos, Mr. Kalaw, who speak the same 
language that is used in the United States to-day. They are the 
young men of the Philippines wholly educated in American schools, 
the product of American effort, and we are proud to present them to 
you. They are the men of to-morrow, and very soon they will relieve 
us of the duties and responsibilities of the management of the affairs 
of that country, and you will find from the way they speak and think 
and act, that the destinies of the country will be well placed when 
they are placed in their hands. 

I wish to say one word in regard to the last question asked by 
Representative Fairfield of Mr. Osias. It is true that up to two 
years ago—the last two years—the Philippine government was un¬ 
able to give free education to all the children of school age, but this 
was not due to neglect on the part of the government, or to lack of 
desire on the part of the people to educate all the children of school 
age; it was simply because the Philippine government did not have 
at the time the necessary funds; but now that the income of the gov¬ 
ernment has increased very materially one of the first acts of the 
legislature was to meet every demand of public instruction. 

Mr. Fairfield. Might I ask you another question in this connec¬ 
tion? Does the General Government furnish all of the money for 
free education, or are there taxes specifically collected in the Prov¬ 
inces which are applied to education? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir; the municipalities and Provinces pay for 
primary education: the National Government simply contributes for 
the maintenance of education. 

Senator Chamberlain. I think it was testified to here yesterday 
that there are about 17 dialects in the Philippines. 

Mr. Quezon. There are 3 main dialects, and more than 17 of the 
small dialects, Senator, limited to a few towns, but a Filipino who 
speaks one of the three—I mean one of these three main dialects— 
can make himself understood anywhere. 

Senator Chamberlain. Are those three written languages? 

Mr. Quezon. Oh, yes, sir. 

Now I have the pleasure of presenting to you Dean Bocobo of the 
College of Law of the University of the Philippines. 

STATEMENT OF MR. J. BOCOBO, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF LAW, 
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 

Mr. Bocobo. Mr. Chairman and members of the joint committee: 
You have listened to an exposition of the work of the public schools 
below the university. I shall take the liberty, with your permission, 
and with your indulgence, to speak of the iTniversity of the Philip- 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


73 


pines. I have the honor to be the dean of the College of Law. I have 
been in the University of the Philippines, teaching in the law depart* 
ment, for the last eight years, and I have tried, as best I could to 
observe the attitude, the way of thinking, and the view point of the 
student body of the University of the Philippines, and I take it to be 
a truism that the young generation has to say on this serious 
question of the independence of the Philippines should not be over¬ 
looked, simply because the young generation has more years to live, 
and I suppose if independence is going to be inimical to their inter¬ 
ests the} 7 are to blame if they favor it. 

I hope to show in my brief remarks that the student body of the 
University of the Philippines, and the graduates thereof, are empha¬ 
tically, absolutely, and without mental reservation, in favor of Philip¬ 
pine independence. True, Shakespeare says that the judgments of 
youth are fathers of their garments, but I will say this as the result of 
my observations of eight years, that this longing for independence, 
this idea for freedom, runs in the very blood of these young men and 
these young women. It grips their very soul; it is part and parcel of 
their every-day life; it is their very dream of every day. In fact, it 
is the fruit, the consummate flower of the education, the kind of edu¬ 
cation—American education—that is being given them. 

The University of the Philippines was founded 10 years ago by 
the government of the Philippine Islands. It is supported mainly 
by the central government of the Philippines. It has the following 
colleges: Law, medicine, engineering, agriculture, veterinary science, 
liberal arts, education, forestry, fine arts, and conservatory of music. 
You can judge from this the variety of work being done by the uni¬ 
versity that it is quite a modern university. It has an attendance of 
3,000 students, and during the brief period of its existence it has 
already conferred about 1,500 degrees. English is the basis of in¬ 
struction. The methods of teaching are American methods. The 
standards, if I may say so. are of the highest that could be expected 
under the circumstances. For example, if I may say something about 
the college of law, in which I belong, the college of law is a member 
of the Association of American Law Schools. The entrance require¬ 
ments are graduation from a high school plus two years’ college 
work, and the course leading to the first degree in law—bachelor of 
laws—is a four-year course. You are acquainted, gentleman, with 
the entrance requirements and the length of law courses in this coun¬ 
try, and you will infer from this that the college of law stands high 
in so far as the entrance requirements and the length of course are 
concerned. 

The medical school is class A. 

I will say, then, that the student body of the university as a class 
is in favor of the independence of the Philippines. That univer¬ 
sity is the seat, we might say, of the national sentiment. It is the 
fountain from which these young men and young women, future 
heads of the masses, which are being educated in the public schools 
below the university—the fountain head from which these leaders 
come. These young men and young women are going to drink from 
this fountain of nationalism. 

Mr. Hersey. Have you an organization—a union, or something 
of that kind—of your student body that has indorsed the move for 
independence ? 


74 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Mr. Bocobo. There is no need of such an organization, because 
every organization has for its aim this freedom of the country, which 
is in the air, we might say. 

Mr. Hersey. Well, have you an organization of your student body 
for that purpose ? 

Mr. Bocobo. No, sir. This sentiment can be gathered from the 
answers of the students in their conversations, in the articles written 
in the daily paper—the University News—in their orations, and, 
above all, in the university song, which was written by an under¬ 
graduate. Part of that university song reads thus: “ Service will our 
watchword be; we will strive to make our country free.” 

Now, gentlemen, if there is anything indicative of the great ambi¬ 
tion, the great dream, of these young men and young women, it is 
found in that university song, written by an undergraduate. 

Senator Chamberlain. May I interrupt you there? You say that 
there are about 3,000 students and about 1,500 hundred have received 
degrees ? 

Mr. Bocobo. Yes, sir. 

Senator Chamberlain. Does this student body come from all over 
the islands, or does it come mainly from the centers of population? 

Mr. Bocobo. No, sir; it comes from all over the islands. 

Senator Chamberlain. What proportion of your student body 
comes from the municipalities—the cities—and what proportion 
comes from the farming lands in the country ? 

Mr. Bocobo. Most of them come from farm life. 

Senator Chamberlain. Do you make agriculture quite an impor¬ 
tant part of the curriculum? 

Mr. Bocobo. Yes, sir. The college of agriculture has a student 
body of about 500, and it has a very well organized course of study. 
It has a farm on Mount Makiling, and it is working out a great 
many experiments—advanced experiments—in agriculture, the idea 
being that while the public schools below the university are going to 
make practical farmers, this college of agriculture of the university 
is going to turn out leaders of agricultural thoughts. 

Senator Chamberlain. Have you found, as a result of that effort, 
an improvement in the methods of farming or a more general dis¬ 
position to develop farm life? 

Mr. Bocobo. The process is rather slow, as in every country. I 
understand that in this country this matter of scientific farming has 
taken 50 years to be adopted by the farmers of the country. 

Senator Chamberlain. We haven’t really developed yet; we are 
just beginning. Iam wondering what effect it has had in your coun¬ 
try since the short beginning you have had. 

Mr. Bocobo. We are just beginning, and you can infer from the 
history of this country that the progress is necessarily slow, but we 
hope that this foundation of agricultural education among the masses 
in the schools, in the primary and intermediate and high schools and 
provincial farm schools—with this basis, these highly trained agri¬ 
culturists from the college of agriculture will find a good field as 
a basis for furthering the work of scientific farming. 

Mr. Nolan. Have you got with your commission the dean of that 
agricultural school? 

Mr. Bocobo. No, sir; we have here the dean of the college of lib¬ 
eral arts and your humble servant. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


75 


Continuing, with your permission, gentlemen, my conclusion in 
regard to the Filipino youth is that it has kept the faith of their 
forefathers; that it has caught the flame of freedom that has illumined 
these men of the older generation in their darkest days, which tried 
men’s souls, and that these young men being nurtured in American 
ideals expect the people of the United States to give to them that 
which lias been taught them to be the dearest and the sweetest in life, 
which is freedom and the liberty to do what they please with regard 
to their destinies. These young men love their country. They are 
proud of it. They are ideal men and they are proud of our Filipino 
heroes, such as Mabini, Rizal, and Bonifacio—and, above all, Rizal. 

In short, this body of young men and young women will expect 
from the Congress of the United States an action which will be 
natural and logical from the way they have been taught. 

I take the liberty, gentlemen, to present here the four graduates 
of the University of the Philippines, Messrs. Jose P. Melencio, Felix 
V. Bautista, Mr. and Mrs. Vicente Villamin. 

They can belie my words if I have said anything which is far from 
the truth or short of the truth. 

Xow, gentlemen, many American statesmen have thought that by 
educating these }mung men and these young women in the American 
viewpoint the time will come ^hen the national spirit will be stifled: 
that these young men and young women, this younger generation, 
will so love American ideals and instructions that they will not get 
the great work, the patriotic work, the unselfish work of their fore¬ 
fathers. The result has been the contrary, and one should not be 
surprised. It is but natural that when these young men read Ameri¬ 
can history, read the great ideals and the great passion for libertv 
that have moved the founders of this country; that when they read 
of the struggle and the fight made by your forefathers for the libertv 
not only of this country but of other races—when they read of these 
things they will naturally like to see and touch in tangible form in 
the reality of life what they dream of when they read these books, 
telling of the great achievements of American democracy. To nurse 
them with the love of liberty and then to deny them that liberty 
would make American educational work in the Philippines defeat its 
own purpose. 

So we can say that both young and old -want independence for the 
Philippines, and we urge this Congress, we urge this committee to 
take action immediately. It is said, of course, that because of the 
work of reconstruction, with the problems, domestic and foreign, 
pressing upon the attention of the Congress, that the Philippine ques¬ 
tion would probably be forgotten, and that the Filipinos could well 
afford to wait until questions of less importance will be the ones that 
are before the Congress. But I submit this: Does any member of this 
committee ever remember a time during their encumbrancy a session 
of Congress in which there were problems less important in the judg¬ 
ment of the American people than the Philippine question? 

In other words, there has always been, in the judgment of the 
American people, a set of questions more vital to the American peo¬ 
ple than the Philippine question, and indications are, because of 
this war, and judging from the past experience of past Congresses 
that there will always be questions which, in the judgment of the 
American people, are more vital to the American people than the 


76 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Philippine question; and I am afraid, gentlemen, that if this thing 
is allowed to drag on, the Philippines will be another Ireland, and 
the members of this committee who have Irish sympathies will, I 
hope, appreciate that statement, that this thing may just grow m 
jmur hands, and the time may be too late to consider it at all. But 
from a broader standpoint, I submit, gentlemen, that the Philip¬ 
pine question is a vital question to the American people, because it is 
part and parcel of the world’s reconstruction on the lasting basis of 
self-determination. The position of America in the world to-day is 
indeed a beautiful one to behold. It is a beautiful, splendid, superb 
picture of unselfishness and altruism and self-denial, but you re¬ 
member having seen pictures Avhich are splendid, perfect, but for one 
flaw in life and shape, and that mars the beauty of the picture. T ou 
have told the world that you have fought this war in order to see 
to it that every race of every kind will determine its own fate, and 
while you are doing that in Europe, the doctrine is not being applied 
to the Philippine Islands. The members of this commission are so 
convinced, however, of the justice of their cause that they see the 
time is coming when this thing is going to be settled, because it is but 
commonplace to say that justice is going to win sooner or later. But 
why not sooner? Why would anyone stand in the way of the 
triumphant march of this overruling force, this force of justice? I 
speak in all humility, gentlemen, when I say that I would rather be 
instrumental in speeding the coming of this day of justice than to 
be an obstacle to it, and as we plead our cause, we members of this 
commission rejoice over the thought that we can at an auspicious 
time, a time when the axioms of the moral law beat with peculiar 
sweetness and solemnity in the magnificent soul of the American 
people, see and behold a fair vision, a vision so plain, gentlemen, 
that he who runs may read it, the vision of a humanity emancipated 
from every sort of imposed government and every manner of menace. 

I will be ready to answer such questions as you may wish to ask. 

The Chairman. Are there any questions of Mr. Bocobo? 

Mr. Hulings. Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask a question. 

You speak of the progress and advancement that the Filipino 
people have made. Do you speak of a few of the people, or can you 
say that of the general run of all the people, of the population of 
those islands? 

Mr. Bocobo. Yes, sir; according to the census 70 per cent of the 
people can read and write, and 95 per cent are civilized Christians. 

Mr. Hulings. What has become of the head-hunters ? What have 
you done with the head-hunters that you used to have out there? 

Mr. Bocobo. The head-hunters are things of the past. There is no 
more head-hunting. 

Mr. Hulings. You have civilized them, have you? 

Mr. Bocobo. Yes, sir; we have tried to, and believe we have suc¬ 
ceeded. There is no more head-hunting in the Philippines. There 
has been none for the last 10 years. 

Mr. Nolan. You spoke of the Irish question as it might relate 
to the Philippines. You don’t believe that American ought to treat 
the question of Philippine independence, or the question of self- 
determination of the Philippines, as a particularly domestic ques¬ 
tion, as Great Britain is treating Ireland, and at the same time try 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 77 

to apply the principle of self-determination to other peoples through¬ 
out the world? Is that your idea? 

Mr. Bocobo. No, sir; I was thinking- 

Mr. Nolan. Probably I did not make myself clear. Do you 
think that when we profess faith in the question or the principle of 
self-determination, we at least ought to start to apply it at home? 

Mr. Bocobo. I wouldn’t want to put it so forcibly as that, but 
what I was afraid of was that the delay would lead to other delays. 

Mr. Nolan. I thought I caught the significance of your remark 
that if we don’t show some disposition to treat people in our own 
dominions or our own domain with the same consideration that we 
want to treat other peoples throughout the world, that they are liable 
to become impatient and all of the good work that has been done in 
the Philippines might go for naught; that is, so far as having the 
good will and respect of the people is concerned. 

Mr. Bocobo. Yes; that is a possibility. 

Mr. Nolan. I thought I caught, from your referring to the case 
of Ireland, that you did not want to see this country blunder in the 
Philippines as Great Britain has blundered in Ireland. 

Mr. Bocobo. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Fairfield. Might I ask, has the United States, in your view, 
any responsibility to its own citizenship or to its own Government, or 
is it wholly a question of the Philippine right of independence im¬ 
mediate and direct? 

Mr. Bocobo. Of course, we believe that it is a matter of principle, 
so far as the bottom of the question is concerned, and I don’t really 
see how the question could be decided other than on the basis of prin¬ 
ciple. Of course, we appreciate that there is such a responsibility, 
but that responsibility and the principle could be reconciled. 

Senator Chamberlain. Are the Filipino people in Manila divided 
up into revolutionary sections as in some countries? 

Mr. Bocobo. No, sir. 

Senator Chamberlain. Your people are rather acting together, 
rather than dividing into groups? 

Mr. Bocobo. They have never been divided into groups. They are 
of the same race. They have fought together against Spain and 
against America because of that misunderstanding of 1899, and since 
then they have strengthened their national spirit. 

Senator Chamberlain. If they were granted their independence by 
America, would political rivalries in different sections of the islands 
tend to separate them into groups? 

Mr. Bocobo. I hardly think so. The Philippine people are a , 
peaceful people, and to show you this, gentlemen, during the 350 
years of Spanish rule or, rather!, misrule—Spain kept only a handful 
of soldiers there, and it was only when the thing became too unbear¬ 
able that the Filipinos rose against Spain. And, indeed, the elections 
during American occupation have never given rise to disorders. 

Mr. Knutson. May I ask a question ? How much American capi¬ 
tal is invested in the Philippines? 

Mr. Bocobo. I couldn’t tell you how much. 

Mr. Knutson. Well, approximately? 

Mr. Bocobo. A good proportion of the capital invested in the 
Philippines is American capital. The trade—if I may indirectly 
answer it—the trade with the United States was 62 per cent. 


78 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Mr. Knutson. Would that trade balance be changed in the event 
that the Philippines were given their independence? 

Mr. Bocobo. I hardly think so, because you know that business 
is based upon good will, and there is nothing that would do more 
for the good will of the Filipinos toward America than this act of 
generosity, giving independence to the Philippines without—well, in 
this unusual way, peacefully giving independence to the Philippines. 

Mr. Knutson. Do you believe that foreign investments would re¬ 
main secure in the event of Philippine independence ? 

Mr. Bocobo. I am absolutely sure, because if there is anything that 
characterizes the Filipino, it is his peacefulness. In fact, I have said 
on one occasion that he is timid to a fault, and there is no danger of 
Boxerism or anything of that sort. 

Senator Harding. I wanted to ask if there is any envy or jealousy 
between the native Filipino and the American business man? 

Mr. Bocobo. There is none, sir, because the American business man 
is a good business man and he gives good goods. 

Senator Harding. Then, one more question, because this is very 
interesting to me. Let us disregard for the moment the possibility 
or the probability of the league of nations. If that were to be estab¬ 
lished, I think there is no one who could reasonably longer deny 
your right to participate in the same self-determination that has been 
preached, but suppose the league should fail, and if you were to have 
your independence you would be called upon to accept it without 
any American protection. Would you still prefer it if pressed upon 
your own resources? 

Mr. Bocobo. Yes, sir; absolutely. 

Mr. Hulings. What is the sentiment amongst the Americans over 
there in business and otherwise with reference to this question of 
immediate independence? What do they say about it? 

Mr. Bocobo. It would be very hard to tell. There are Democrats 
and Republicans among the business men. 

Mr. Hulings. How is that? 

Mr. Bocobo. There are Republicans and Democrats among the 
business men, and it would be somewhat hard to find out. 

Mr. Hulings. Is it a party question, then, over there? 

Mr. Bocobo. Well, not quite; it leans—the division is in that gen¬ 
eral way. The Democrats are supporting the present administration 
program and the Republicans are rather opposed to it. 

Mr. Hulings. What proportion of the people over there amongst 
the Americans—is the preponderance of sentiment among them in 
favor of independence immediately? 

Mr. Bocobo. I think so. 

Mr. Hulings. Now, just one more question. Does this demand for 
independence have its backing and power among a lot of ambitious, 
patriotic Filipinos who want to run the country, or is it a thing of 
general interest to all the people? 

Mr. Bocobo. It is the latter. 

Mr. Ziiilman . What percentage of your people, of the male popu¬ 
lation, participate in your government? 

Mr. Bocobo. Why, that same question was asked here yesterday, 
and we didn’t have available figures. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


79 


Mr. Zihlman. Well, I will read that in the record. 

Mr. Knutson. The speaker yesterday, in speaking of the different 
political parties, mentioned their thanks- 

Mr. Nolan (interposing). That is all in the record. 

Mr. Knutson. All right, then. I was not here yesterday afternoon. 

The Chairman. We are very grateful indeed to the representative 
of the University of the Philippines for his statement. Whom will 
you have next? 

Mr. Quezon. Mr. Chairman, I shall call next upon Mr. Conrado 
Benitez, dean of the College of Liberal Arts of the University of the 
Philippines. 

Mr. Knutson. In the event the independence of the Philippines 
were established, would you be willing to give this country a naval 
base there? 

Mr. Quezon. Certainly. I suppose the Filipinos would be willing 
to give you anything you ask for. On the question of giving, you 
will be giving them certainly what they have now. So I don’t see 
how they could object to that. 

The Chairman. If you will present Mr. Benitez this afternoon, we 
will take an adjournment at this time until 2 o’clock. 

(Whereupon, at 12 o’clock noon, the committee recessed until 2 
o’clock p. m. this day.) 

AFTER RECESS. 

The committee reassembled at 2 o’clock p. m., pursuant to recess. 

The Chairman. The hearings will be resumed, gentlemen. We 
will proceed with the last gentleman this morning. 

STATEMENT OF ME. CONRADO BENITEZ, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE 
OF LIBERAL ARTS, UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 

Mr. Benitez. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, you 
have heard an account of the progress of education in the Philip¬ 
pines up to the present time, and the result of the cooperation of the 
Americans and the Filipinos, but it seems to me that in order to 
have a clear picture, a clear idea of the picture of the progress, we 
should go a little farther back and take into account the progress 
made up to the time of American occupation. 

A good many people here, as I have found out in my recent trip 
through the universities, actually believe that this wonderful prog¬ 
ress that has been made was started only with American occupation, 
but this is far from the truth. The fact is that as far as higher 
education is concerned—and that interests me more—we have had 
institutions of higher learning in the Philippines as early as 1619, 
with the establishment of the Santo Tomas University, and I believe 
that that is even earlier than the oldest university here, Harvard; 
and from that time, to the end of Spanish occupation, there have 
been established a good many colleges for higher education. 

Now, just to give a brief summary of this, I will read a little para¬ 
graph from a pamphlet which is published by the mission, and 
which I request the chairman to allow me to submit as part of my 
remarks. 


80 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


The Chairman. That may be done. 

Mr. Benitez. [Reading:] 

SCHOOLS DURING THE SPANISH REGIME. 

As early as 1866, out of a population of 4,000,000 people, there were 841 
schools for boys and 833 for girls. In 1892, eight years before the coming of 
the Americans, there were 2,137 schools. There were also, during the Spanish 
regime, colleges and universities where professional training was given. The 
colleges were: University of Santo Tomas, Manila, established in 1611 (twenty 
five years older than Harvard) ; San Juan de Letran, Municipal Anthenaeum, 
Normal School, College of San Jose, the Nautical School, the School of Com¬ 
mercial Accounting, the Academy of Painting and Drawing, and many other 
private schools, 14 of which were, in Manila, while others in the provinces 
must also be reckoned. There were seminaries in Manila, Nueva-Segovia, 
Cebu, Jaro and Nueva-Caceres, where all branches of secondary instruction 
were taught in addition to those which constituted the studies for the priest¬ 
hood. (Data from the American Census of 1903.) 

This is data taken from the Philippine census of 1903. The main 
point that I wanted to bring out this afternoon is the fact that from 
the earliest times there has existed in the Philippines a class of intel¬ 
lectual leaders of the people. As a matter of fact, it may be said 
that the national movement in the Philippines had its beginning in 
the efforts of the educated priesthood, the native priests, to get 
recognition and better treatment from the Spanish priests, and we 
find in our history the constant effort on the part of our educated 
priests to get recognition. There were also a good many Filipinos 
who have attained high positions in the army of Spain in the Philip¬ 
pines, and, of course, also in the professions—law, medicine, and 
pharmacy especially. So that you can very well understand the feel¬ 
ing of the Filipinos when the Americans came and considered all of 
them incapable of holding the lower positions in the government. 
We have had a gradual increase of educated men. You can trace it 
with the economic growth of the country, with the formation of a 
strong middle class. Of course this has to do with the opening of 
the ports to the British and American merchants. With this eco¬ 
nomic growth there has developed a more or less wealthy native class 
who were able to send their children to school. Now these educated 
young Filipinos were not educated away from the people, but rather 
served as the leaders of the people in their fight for constitutional 
rights against Spain, and later on, with the opening of the ports, a 
good many of them were able to go to Europe and come in touch with 
the liberalizing influences of France and Germany and England. 
And, with the return of these, of course there was a greater incentive 
to fight for constitutional reforms. So that all of this struggle to 
get more freedom, more national recognition for the Filipinos, cul¬ 
minated in the revolution that we had in 1896 against Spain, which, 
as you know, was successful to the extent of driving out the 
sovereignty of Spain. And, as a matter of fact, Spanish sovereignty 
was only centered around Manila when the Americans came. So that 
there is a close connection between the development of higher educa¬ 
tion in the Philippines and the struggle of the people for constitu¬ 
tional rights. 

Now, there was a remark made this morning by Mr. Quezon that 
the mission here is truly representative, in that there are three gen¬ 
erations represented in it. First, the older generation, then those 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


81 


who came later, and then those who are the products of the Ameri¬ 
can schools. This is true also of the schools. There are, we may 
say, three types of higher schools—schools for higher learning. The 
first are those established by Spain; the second are those established 
immediately after the Spanish sovereignty was overthrown, and as 
a result of the attempt of the Filipino leaders to furnish higher edu¬ 
cation. This was before the Americans were able to do it. And 
lastly there are the schools established by the Americans, and in this 
mission the products of these three schools are represented; and you 
may say that the first two are Spanish speaking and the last two 
are English speaking. But I do not believe that there is a marked 
distinction between these intellectual products of higher education. 
In fact, I can see a continuous handing down of the same traditions 
from one class to the other, so that those of us who are just coming 
up to-day are following the same traditions that were worked out and 
handed down for years—from generations in the past. 

It has been my privilege to talk to a good many university men 
in this country lately, and I have been struck by the lack of knowl¬ 
edge of conditions in the Philippines as far as higher learning is 
concerned. For example, when we tell them that we have a State 
University there supported by the Government with over 8,000 
students who are regular college students, they are surprised. Per¬ 
haps this is due to the fact that the Government officers, the Federal 
Government officers, in ^charge of the educational institutions and 
the investigation of educational institutions in this country have not 
seen it fit to include the Philippines in their investigations, so that 
to-day it is unfortunate, but it is true that a good many of the insti¬ 
tutions of learning here are not in a position to admit our students 
without much delay. And I hope that this can be remedied by 
administrative action, by including the Philippines in the investi¬ 
gations that are being made by, for example, the Bureau of Educa¬ 
tion here, so that the people will know what we are doing. It is 
really strange that a work that has attracted the attention and 
admiration of the educational world out there in the Philippines 
has been accomplished without the direct effort of the Federal Gov¬ 
ernment here, and personally it would be, I am sure, appreciated by 
the Filipinos if our institutions of higher learning were included in 
the list of those institutions of this country. 

I do not think of any further statement to make, unless there are 
some questions that the committee would like to ask. I am princi¬ 
pally interested in the University of the Philippines—which was es¬ 
tablished only a few years ago and which is intended to develop and 
turn out the leaders, the intellectual leaders, of the country. 

The Chairman. You have now in the islands a complete system of 
education among yourselves ? 

Mr. Benitez. Yes. sir. 

The Chairman. Commencing with primary work in the public 
schools, up to the grades, and in the high school system, as we call it 
in this country? 

Mr. Benitez. Yes, sir. 

The Chairman. And then through a collegiate course in your 
liberal arts departments, ending with a professional education or a 
technical education in one or the other of the departments, if they 

122031—19-6 


82 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


so desire. So that you have now among yourselves a complete edu¬ 
cational course? 

Mr. Benitez. Yes, sir. 

The Chairman. Is that appreciated by your people, do you think, 
to its fullest extent ? 

Mr. Benitez. Very much so. In fact, in this connection I may 
add that the attitude of the Filipinos toward education is some¬ 
what, perhaps, different from the attitude of other peoples—in this 
regard, that out there the people look to an educated man for lead¬ 
ership. Now, we hear remarks often made—and I read the editor¬ 
ials of all the papers in this country—and they seem to imply that 
there is danger in the people following this and that demagogue, or 
this and that ignorant leader. Well, that has not been our historical 
experience as far as leadership is concerned. As a matter of fact, all 
of the present leaders and almost all of the leaders of the past have 
been men who have gone through the regular educational system. 

Now, this may not be just right from the point of view of certain 
men, but if we admit that an educational system is intended to de¬ 
velop a certain civic spirit, we must admit that the product of that 
system is the desirable citizen that we want, and it is gratifying to 
know, I say, that to-day no man who has not had enough education 
as provided by this school system, can pretend to gain the favor or 
the support of our people. It seems to me that there is a severer, a 
different method of selection. In other words, our leaders must pass 
through perhaps a harder test, educationally, before they can be re¬ 
ceived as leaders, because they must speak two languages at least, and 
these are Spanish and English. 

The Chairman. Is there a tendency among your business men to 
educate their sons thoroughly, as a preparation for business life as 
well as professional life? 

Mr. Benitez. Yes, sir. In that connection, there is a new tendency 
observed to-day. Heretofore the professional career has attracted all 
of the w T ell-to-do youth. That is to say, even if they wanted to be 
farmers, they felt that in order to assume the position that they 
would want to hold in society, they must have an academic degree in 
one of the professions, either law, medicine or pharmacy, or some 
other of the older professions. I am glad to say that the establish¬ 
ment of the University of the Philippines has provided a new outlet 
for the young men. As far as the older professions are concerned, we 
have been receiving that training from the older schools, but the 
University of the Philippines has furnished what we may call the 
more technical, the engineering, and the scientific careers. So that 
to-day that is taken care of adequately, I believe. 

Mr. Hulings. What limitation is there on the elective franchise? 

Mr. Benitez. The franchise? We have an educational qualifica¬ 
tion. That is the main qualification. Did you want me to name all 
of the qualifications? 

Mr. Hulings. Well, I want to know what the qualifications of a 
voter are. 

Mr. Benitez. A voter must know how to read and write before he 
can vote. 

Mr. Hulings. What is the literacy, or the proportion of illiterates 
in the government now—in the Philippine Islands ? 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


83 


Mr. Benitez. The latest estimate is 30 per cent illiterates of the 
population over 10 years of age. That includes all of the popula¬ 
tion, Christian and non-Christian. 

Mr. H ulings. Now the United States Government has established 
schools over there some years ago. I know quite a number of school- 
teachers that went over there. I have learned that they took those 
children, practically naked little fellows, and put them into the 
schools there. Ihey didn't know anything; they didn’t know their 
letters. ^Nov, have the} 1, had such a marvelous success in the few 
years since that thing has been done as to give you 70 per cent of 
literates ? 

Mr. Benitez. Oh, yes. 

^ Mr. Hulings. That is better than we are doing in some of our own 
States at home, I guess. 

Mr. Benitez. Yes; that is why we consider our achievement quite 
remarkable. 

Mr. Fairfield. I think the statement was made that about 45 per 
cent of the children were not as yet taken care of in free elementary 
schools. 

Mr. Benitez. Not yet. That was made this morning, I under¬ 
stand. 

Mr. Fairfield. Would that seem to be reconcilable with the state¬ 
ment that such a per cent are literate? Or, in other words, that 30 
per cent only are illiterate ? 

Mr. Benitez. Well, this 70 per cent applies to those above 10 years 
of age. 

Mr. Fairfield. Those above 10 years of age? 

Mr. Benitez. And that 45 per cent includes from 7 years or 6 
years, when they begin to go to school. 

Mr. Fairfield. Now, we have in this country what we call a self- 
respecting middle class, owning a certain amount of property, fairly 
well educated, in the rural districts, having farms ranging from 20 
hectares up to 40 and 60. Have you anything corresponding to that 
in the Philippine Islands? 

Mr. Benitez. Yes; that is exactly the chief characteristic of the 
Philippines, that the landed property is well distributed, and that has 
been shown in the census of 1903, and I understand from cabled re¬ 
ports lately received that it is even more so to-day; that there has 
been even greater distribution of land among the people. I don’t 
have the figures right now—a million and a half farms to-day were 
counted, and there are ten million and a half people on them, 10,- 
000,000 of whom are Christians. So that gives you almost a farm 
for every family, which is the general condition over there. Here is 
a telegram from the Governor General of the Philippines to the 
Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, received April 12,1919, which 
I believe I requested the chairman to allow me to insert. He says: 

Ownership of farms is distributed as follows: Filipinos. 96 per cent; Ameri¬ 
cans, one-tenth of 1 per cent; Europeans, one-tenth of 1 per cent; Asiatics, one- 
half of 1 per cent. All others, 3& per cent. 

That is the latest estimate received from the census taken January 
1, 1919. 

Mr. Fairfield. You spoke of the sugar centrals—perhaps not 
you, but some member of your party. Are there any vast landed 
properties held by those centrals? 


84 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Mr. Benitez. There are large estates owner by individuals, but 
I understand that there are only two large estates. 

Mr. Hulings. What proportion of your population now are Japa- 

nese? 

Mr. Benitez. According to the latest reports there are 7,000 Jap¬ 
anese in the islands. 

Mr. Hulings. Are they a large proportion of the business popula¬ 
tion ? 

Mr. Benitez. I believe they are mostly farm laborers engaged in 
farming the land owned by certain Japanese companies. 

Mr. Garrett. Is there one of those large sugar centrals in the 
island of Mindanao. 

Mr. Benitez. I don’t think so, sir. 

Mr. Garrett. There was established there some years ago—I don’t 
know whether it was a sugar central or a very large sugar farm—by 
interests in the United States—are you familiar with that? 

Mr. Benitez. I am not. I know something about it, but I would 
not like to testify as to the fact. 

Mr. Garrett. That is all I have. 

Mr. Quezon. I could give the committee some information about 
that. There are only two sugar centrals that have quite large land 
holdings. One is the Mindoro Estate. That has 55,000 acres of land. 
The land there was owned by the sugar central, but Mr. Garrett will 
remember that at one time there was an investigation by the Com¬ 
mittee on Insular Affairs about this matter, and as the result of that 
investigation the owners of the land agreed to sell the land back to the 
people, so that to-day the whole land has been sold to the tenants. 

Mr. Garrett. They own the central ? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes; the company owns the central; but not the land. 

Mr. Garrett. I simply had forgotten—I got the names of the 
islands mixed up. I remember now it was Mindoro. 

Mr. Quezon. And the other sugar estate that has quite a good deal 
of land is the Calamba Sugar Estate. That has 30,000 acres of land. 
They still own the land. All the other sugar centrals there do not 
own the land, except the part of the land where the machinery is 
established. The people themselves own the land. 

Mr. Garrett. I suppose those centrals are quite prosperous now, 
and the sugar growers are quite prosperous? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir; very prosperous. 

Mr. Garrett. Is that sugar exported principally to the United 
States ? 

Mr. Quezon. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Garrett. You have no refinery in Manila, have you? 

Mr. Quezon. Yo; not yet. 

The Chairman. You may continue, if you desire. 

Mr. Benitez. I have nothing further. 

The Chairman. Do you desire to have that matter put in the 
record ? 

Mr. Benitez. Yes, sir. 

The Chairman. You may hand whatever you have to the reporter, 
and it will be incorporated in the record. 

(The mater referred to follows:) 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


85 


FROM A TELEGRAM OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS TO THE 
CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF INSULAR AFFAIRS. APRIL 12, 1919. 

Philippine census reports as follows: Estimated population 1918—non- 
Christian, 504.397 ; Christian, 9,995,603. Literacy statistics for 1918 as follows: 
Population under 10 years of age, 3,885,000 ; 30 per cent of the population 
above 10 years of age is illiterate. Population of electoral age 2,625,000, of 
which 33 per cent are illiterate, not qualified electors. Urban property houses 
and lands, is owned 91 per cent by natives and 9 per cent by other nationali¬ 
ties. The number of farms has increased to 1,500,000, which is an increase 
of 84 per cent over 1903. Ownership of farms is distributed as follows: Fili¬ 
pinos, 96 per cent; Americans, one-tenth of 1 per cent; Europeans, one-tenth of 
1 per cent; Asiatics, one-half of 1 per cent; all others, 3& per cent. All the 
foregoing is estimated, as complete returns from Provinces have not yet been 
completed. 

Mr. Fairfield. Just a moment, before you close—have you any 
data with regard to the number of people in city districts who are 
in medium circumstances, owning their own homes? 

Mr. Benitez. Well, perhaps this will give an idea—perhaps this 
will answer your question: 

Urban property, houses and lands, are owned 91 per cent by natives and 9' 
per cent by other nationalities. 

Now that urban includes the cities. The number of farms has in¬ 
creased to 1,500,000, which is an increase of 84 per cent over 1903. 

The Chairman. Is that all you have? 

Mr. Benitez. That is all. 

The Chairman. Thank you very much for your presentation of 
this very interesting matter. 

Mr. Quezon. Mr. Chairman, I would like to present Mr. Jose A. 
Santos, president of the Philippine Columbian Association. This is 
an association formed largely by young Filipinos educated in the 
English language. 

STATEMENT OF MR. JOSE A. SANTOS, PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIP¬ 
PINE COLUMBIAN ASSOCIATION. 

Mr. Santos. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I 
speak here on behalf of an association which is composed mostly 
of young men who have been educated in the United States and 
Europe, and also in the American public schools in the Philippines. 
This group of young men, I believe I can say without any fear of se¬ 
rious contradictions, is generally regarded as the exponent of Ameri¬ 
can ideals and principles in the Philippines. As a former Vice 
Governor of the Philippines has said, the Hon. Newton W. Gilbert, 
it is the nucleus of modern education in the Philippine Islands. 

This association was organized about 12 yeas ago, at a time when 
there was still a great deal of misunderstanding between the Amer¬ 
ican and the Filipino people. Among its principal purposes are 
the inculcation of good citizenship and the cultivation of friendly 
relations between Americans and Filipinos. 

I might also say that the constitution of this association contains 
a provision to the effect that the association shall not take any active 
part in political or religious affairs, and for the last 12 years we 
have refrained from taking any stand on the question of independ¬ 
ence. 


86 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Mr. Hersey. Have you a copy of that constitution with you? 

Mr. Santos. I have one in the office which I will be glad to file. 
Mr. Hersey. I wish you would put it in. 

Mr. Santos. I will make it a part of the record. 

Mr. Hersey. Can that be made a part of the record ? 

The Chairman. Yes. 

(The paper referred to follows:) 

Constitution and By-Laws of the Philippine Columbian Association, 1917. 

The Philippine Columbian Association was organized on the 11th day of De¬ 
cember, 1907, and for the government thereof a constitution was adopted on 
that date. Since its adoption, this constitution has suffered several amend¬ 
ments, such as were deemed to be demanded by the changing social order. 
The most important of these amendments were adopted on the 30tli day of 
October, 1910, and the 22d day of September, 1917. In the following pages the 
constitution is given as it stands to-day (Jan. 11, 1918). 

ARTICLE I.—NAME. 


The name of this association shall be “ The Philippine Columbian Associa¬ 
tion.” 


ARTICLE II.-PURPOSES. 


Section 1. The purposes for which this association is formed are: To foster 
the spirit of good fellowship among its members; to promote their intellectual, 
moral, as well as physical welfare, and to enhance their happiness; to inculcate 
the spirit of good citizenship; and to cultivate friendly relations between 
Americans and Filipinos. 

Sec. 2. The association shall not take active part in religious or political 
affairs. 

ARTICLE III.-OFFICERS, THEIR ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE. 

Section 1. The officers of the association shall lie a president, a vice presi¬ 
dent, a secretary-treasurer, and four directors, who, together, shall constitute 
a board of directors, in which shall be vested the government of the association, 
subject to the limitations hereinafter set forth. 

Sec. 2. The officers above named shall be elected annually and by secret ballot 
at the respective regular annual meeting of the association and shall hold office 
for one year, or until their successors are elected and qualified: Provided , That 
if for any reason the said meeting could not be held at the time set for the pur¬ 
pose, then the election shall be held at the first meeting, regular or special, of 
the association to be held thereafter. 

Sec. 3. In all elections a plurality of all the valid votes cast shall be sufficient 
to elect an officer. 

Sec. 4. All resident members not in arreas for dues, special assessment levy, 
or promised voluntary subscription are eligible to become officers. 

Sec. 5. The nomination of officers shall not be closed until there have been 
at least two candidates named, except by an affirmative vote of two-thirds 
of all the members present at the meeting. 

Sec. 6. Notice for holding elections shall be sent at least 10 days prior to 
the date thereof. 

Sec. 7. The installation of officers shall take place on the date of their 
election or at any subsequent meeting of the association. 


ARTICLE IV-DUTIES OF OFFICERS. 

Section 1. The president, and in his absence the vice president, shall preside 
at all meetings of the association and of the board of directors. In the ab¬ 
sence of both the president and vice president, the members present at any 
meeting of the association or of the board of directors may elect a temporary 
presiding officer. It shall be the duty of the president to make a report, at 
each regular annual meeting of the association, as to the general condition 
of the association during the previous year or term; he shall call such meetings 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


87 


as are herein provided to he called by him; he, together with the secretary- 
treasurer, shall sign all written contracts and obligations of the association; 
he shall see that the laws, and regulations of the association are faithfully 
executed; and shall perform such other duties as the board of directors or 
the association may assign him. 

Sec. 2. r l he vice president shall perform the duties of the president, in the 
absence of the latter, and shall perform such other duties as the association 
or the board of directors may assign him. 

Sec. 3. The secretary-treasurer shall be the custodian of the records, seal, 
and funds of the association; he shall give due notice of all the meetings of 
the association and of the board of directors; he shall keep the minutes of 
all the meetings of both the association and the board of directors, which said 
minutes shall be written in the books of the association and shall contain a 
true and accurate account of the proceedings in such meetings and a record 
of ftil the business therein transacted, and shall be signed by him as secre¬ 
tary ; he shall conduct all the correspondence of the association not especially 
under the charge of any other officers; he shall keep a roll of all the mem¬ 
bers of the association; he shall notify members elected to office or persons 
elected to membership of their election; he, together with the president, shall 
sign all written contracts and obligations of the association; he shall affix 
the seal of the association to all contracts, obligations, and documents re¬ 
quired to be signed and sealed on behalf of the association, when so ordered 
by the association or the board of directors; he shall keep books wherein he 
shall set down a true and just account of all moneys received and disbursed 
by him for or on behalf of the association, and report thereon at such time 
and in such detail as the association or the board of directors may require; 
he shall sign all receipts for money received by the association and shall 
disburse the funds as may be ordered by the board of directors; he shall 
collect all entrance fees and dues; he shall submit a written statement at 
the annual meeting of the association, showing accurately the financial con¬ 
ditions of the association; he shall deposit the funds of the association at 
such reliable banking or other financial institution or institutions as may be 
designated by the board of. directors; and shall perform such other duties as 
may be required of him by the association or the board of directors. 

ARTICLE V—BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

Section 1. The board of directors shall have general charge of the affairs 
and property of the association. It shall lie its duty to carry out the objects and 
purposes thereof, and, to this end, it may exercise all the powers of the asso¬ 
ciation, subject to the constitution and by-laws, and to such action as the 
association may take at its regular or special meeting next following; it shall 
make rules and regulations not inconsistent with the constitution and by-laws, 
and enforce obedience thereto; it shall fill all vacancies occurring among its 
members for the unexpired period; it shall have power to appropriate and 
expend money from the general funds of the association in the lawful perform¬ 
ance of its duties: Provided, That such appropriations and expenditures shall 
not exceed 75 per cent of the funds available in the treasury at any given time. 

Sec. 2. The board of directors shall appoint annually from among its mem¬ 
bers an auditing committee of three members, to hold office for one year, which 
shall audit the accounts of the secretary-treasurer at least once every four 
months and report to the board of directors the accounts audited and allowed 
since its previous report. 

Sec. 3. The board of directors shall have authority to require of the secretary- 
treasurer a sufficient guaranty bond for the faithful performance of his duties, 
and may allow him such pay or compensation as it may see fit, but no other 
officer of the association shall receive a salary or valuable compensation for 
services rendered to the association in his official capacity. 

Sec. 4. The board of directors shall appoint annually from among its mem¬ 
bers a membership committee of three members, which shall receive all applica¬ 
tions for membership and forward the same to the board of directors with its 
recommendation. The secretary-treasurer shall be a member of this committee. 

Sec. 5. Any director who shall be absent from three consecutive regular meet¬ 
ings of the board without a justifiable cause shall be considered to have re¬ 
signed his position. The board shall thereupon record such fact and fill the 
vacancy for the unexpired period. 

Sec. 6. The board of directors shall have power to punish by a majority vote 
of all the members of the board any of its members, by suspension for any 


88 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


period not exceeding one month, for any misconduct which may be deemed 
sufficient to warrant such suspension. 

ARTICLE VI-MEMBERS AND MEMBERSHIP. 

Section 1. The members of the association shall be classified and enrolled as 
follows: (a) Resident members and ( b ) non-resident members. Resident mem¬ 
bers are those members residing in Manila and its immediate vicinity; non¬ 
resident members are those members residing elsewhere. 

Sec. 2. Any Filipino citizen of good moral character may be admitted to mem¬ 
bership. 

Sec. 3. Any person desiring to become a member shall make out an applica¬ 
tion on approved form by the board of directors, which application must be 
signed by two members of good standing as proposer and seconder, respectively, 
and sent to the secretary-treasurer who shall give the same due course. 

Sec. 4. All applications for membership shall be presented at a meeting of the 
board of directors and read thereat. The board shall ballot upon each candi¬ 
date separately and one negative vote shall be sufficient to reject any applica¬ 
tion for active membership. All proceedings upon applications shall be secret 
and confidential. The secretary-treasurer shall immediately notify the candi¬ 
date of the action taken. No appeal will lie from the decision of the board of 
directors rejecting any application. 

Sec. 5. The name and residence of every person proposed for membership, 
together with the name of the proposer and seconder, shall be posted upon the 
bulletin board for at least five days before being acted on by the board of 
directors, and any member having knowledge of any cause by reason of which 
membership should be denied to the person applying for it, should file notice 
of the same with the secretary, who shall present it at the proper meeting of 
the board of directors. 

Sec. 6. Any person duly elected member of the association, who, within 
thirty days after notice of election, fails to pay his entrance fee and first dues, 
as hereinafter provided, shall be deemed to have declined to become a member, 
unless it be shown to the satisfaction of the board of directors that the delay 
to pay was justified. 

Sec. 7. Resignations of members shall be made in writing and sent, through 
the secretary-treasurer, to the board of directors for its action. No resigna¬ 
tion shall take effect until the member's indebtedness to the association has 
been discharged. 

Sec. 8. Membership shall be terminated by death, resignation, or forfeiture, 
and all interests of the member in the assets of the association shall there¬ 
upon terminate. 

Sec. 9. Every member shall leave his post-office address with the secretary- 
treasurer, and all notices sent by mail to a member at the address inscribed 
on the secretary-treasurer’s book shall be considered as served upon said 
member. It shall be the duty of every member to report any change of his 
address, as soon as practicable, to the secretary-treasurer. 

ARTICLE VII.-MEMBERSHIP DUES. 

Section 1. The monthly dues for all members shall be such as may from time 
to time be fixed by resolution of the board of directors: Provided , That such 
monthly dues shall not exceel five pesos 5. 

Sec. 2. No member who is in arrears for fees and dues, shall, on objection, 
be allowed to vote at any election or in a meeting, except by an affirmative 
vote of two-thirds of all the members present at the meeting. 

Sec. 3. Any member who shall neglect or fail to pay all his just dues and 
debts to the association within thirty days from the end of the calendar month 
in which they were payable, shall by that fact and by resolution of the board 
of directors cease to be a member of the association. The decision of the board 
of directors in such case shall be subject to review by the members of the as¬ 
sociation at any general meeting next following. 

ARTICLE VIII.—IMPEACHMENT OF OFFICERS, SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION OF 

MEMBERS. 

Section 1. Any officer may on impeachment be removed from office only, 
or both removed from office and expelled from the association for any of the 
following causes: (a) Any willful violation of the constitution and by-laws. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


89 


(b) gross neglect of official duty or duties, or (c) any grave offense or miscon¬ 
duct reflecting upon liis moral character which may be deemed sufficient to 
warrant such removal or suspension, or both, by an affirmative vote of three- 
fourths of the members at any meeting, general or special, of the asso¬ 
ciation : Provided, That the officer charged shall have at least 15 days’ notice 
of the meeting and of the charges to be preferred against him, and be afforded 
an opportunity to be heard and defend himself at such meeting. 

Sec. 2. Any member may be suspended or expelled from the association for 
any willful violation of the constitution and by-laws or any offense or miscon¬ 
duct reflecting on his moral character which may be deemed sufficient to war¬ 
rant such suspension or expulsion by a unanimous vote of the board of directors: 
Provided, That the member charged shall have at least one week’s notice of the 
proper meeting of the board of directors and of the charges to be preferred 
against him, and be afforded an opportunity to be heard and to defend himself 
at such meeting: And provided further, That the member so suspended or ex¬ 
pelled may appeal from such action of the board of directors to the next general 
meeting, regular or special, of the members of the association, who may by two- 
thirds vote of all the members present set aside the action of the board of 
directors and reinstate the said member: Provided, however, That said suspen¬ 
sion or expulsion shall remain effective until set aside by the members of the 
association as before stated. 

Sec. 3. The expulsion of any officer or member shall, ipso facto, operate as a 
forfeiture of his membership. 

Sec. 4. No officer or member who has been expelled shall be readmitted to 
membership in the association unless he comply with such conditions as the 
board of directors may prescribe. 

ARTICLE IX-MEETINGS AND ELECTIONS. 

Section 1. The meetings of the members of the association shall be either 
regular or special. 

Sec. 2. Regular meetings shall be held annually in the month of January on a 
day and at an hour and place to be fixed by the board of directors. 

Sec. 3. The order of business of the regular annual meeting shall be: (1) 
Reading of the minutes of the last regular meeting and of any special meeting 
subsequent thereto; (2) reports of officers and committees; (3) unfinished busi¬ 
ness; (4) new business; (5) elections and installation of new officers; (6) ad¬ 
journment. 

Sec. 4. Special meetings may be called by the president on his own motion, 
or by a resolution of the board of directors to that effect, or on the written 
request of 10 or more members, which request shall specify the object of the 
meeting. 

Sec. 5. All general meetings shall be called by circular setting forth the 
time and place of the meeting, and, in the case of special meetings, the purpose 
for which it is to be held: Provided, That the business to be done in a special 
meeting shall be confined to that specified in said notice, unless otherwise 
resolved by the vote of two-thirds of the members present at said meeting. 
The said notice shall be given at least five days before the date set for the 
meeting. 

Sec. 6. The number of members necessary to constitute a quorum at any 
general meeting, regular or special of the association, shall be 15: Provided, 
That in case there should not be present a quorum of 15 members as above 
required, then those present may adjourn the meeting from time to time until 
a number of members sufficient to constitute a quorum are present. 

Sec. 7. At all meetings of the association each member present shall be 
allowed one vote. No member shall be allowed to vote by proxy at any meet¬ 
ing or in any election. 

Sec. 8. The board of directors shall hold regular meeting at least once each 
month. Special meeting of the board shall be convened when so ordered by 
the president, or requested by two members of the board. 

Sec. 9. At all regular and special meetings of the board of directors four 
directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. 

Sec. 10. Notice of all regular and special meetings of the board of directors 
shall be given at least two days before the date set for the meeting. 


90 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


ARTICLE X—RULES OF ORDER AND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE. 

Section 1. Robert’s Rules or Order shall be the official guide in all the pro¬ 
ceedings of this association, except when it is in conflict with the constitution 
and by-laws. 

ARTICLE XI—INTERPRETATIONS. 

On all questions arising as to the construction of the constitution and by-laws, 
the decisiou of the board of directors shall control until overruled by a majority 
vote of the members present at any regular or special meeting of the asso¬ 
ciation. 

ARTICLE XII-SEAL. 

There is hereby prescribed and adopted a seal of the association, which shall 
be circular in form, with the words “ The Philippine Columbian Association ” 
inscribed thereon. 

ARTICLE XIII—AMENDMENTS. 

The constitution and by-laws of the association may be amended at any 
meeting of the association, regular or special, by an affirmative vote of two- 
thirds of the members present at such meeting, entitled to vote: Provided, 
That the proposed amendment or amendments shall have been furnished to the 
secretary-treasurer and notice thereof shall have been sent by him to each 
member at least seven days before the date set for the meeting at which it is 
proposed to consider such amendment or amendments. 

ADDENDA TO ARTICLE X. 

Sec. 2. The official language of this association shall be the English language. 

Mr. Santos. We have refrained from taking any stand on the 
independence question, on the ground that that might be construed 
as taking an active part in political affairs of the country. Re¬ 
cently, however, things have come to such a pass that the independ¬ 
ence question could no longer be regarded as a political question. It 
had reached such a state that it became a national question, and con¬ 
sequently the members of that association thought it to be their 
duty as citizens to express their views on that question, and about 
three months ago they passed a resolution in favor of independence 
for the Philippines. We adopted that resolution because we be¬ 
lieve that it is in line with the purposes of our association, of in¬ 
culcating friendly relations between Americans and Filipinos. We 
believe that there is nothing that could be more conducive to the ex¬ 
istence of a better understanding and a more sincere friendship be¬ 
tween Americans and Filipinos than the granting of independence 
to the Philippines, and we also believe—especially those of us who 
have been educated in American universities and schools—that the 
granting of independence to the Philippines is absolutely in har¬ 
mony with the highest and best traditions of the American people, 
the traditions and principles which our association, even from the 
beginning, even at a time when it was considered as somewhat un- 
Filipino to work for the triumph of those principles and ideals, 
our association, as I said, even from that time, had advocated such 
principles and ideas. 

So I believe that I express the sentiment of the members of that 
association when I say that it would be the crowning glory of Amer¬ 
ican occupation in the Philippines, and it would be clearly conducive 
to a better understanding and more sincere friendship between 
American and Filipinos, if the United States should at this time 



PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 91 

take a definite action looking to the granting of independence to 
the Philippines. 

Upon the occasion of the adoption of that resolution in favor of 
independence, the Filipino press—all the leading papers in Manila— 
commented editorially on that resolution, and they all took it as a 
conservative action and at the same time a reasonable action on the 
part of the association. 

If the chairman and the members of this committee will permit 
it, I would ask that I be allowed to file copies of those editorials as 
a part of my remarks here this afternoon. 

The Chairman. I would suggest that only such portions of the 
editorials as will show the expression of sentiment should be in¬ 
cluded, so as not to cumber the record too much. If your editorials 
are like some of ours, it would take a good deal of space to put in 
a very few ideas. 

Mr. Santos. They are not very long. 

(The editorials referred to follow:) 

[La Nacion, Feb. 11, 1919.] 

A SIGNIFICANT ATTITUDE. 

The resolution adopted by the young and spirited members of the “ Colum¬ 
bian,” an association composed of Filipinos educated in the United States of 
North America, is truly praiseworthy. It signifies nothing else than that in 
the country there is a unity of sentiment with respect to national independence. 
In this transcendental question there are no youths or aged men; there are 
none educated in American or Spanish stlye; there are Filipinos only; and 
it is sufficient that one is a Filipino in order that he may feel, that for the 
happiness of our country there is wanting a complete emancipation, just as 
in a man’s life the atmosphere is indispensable. It is true that there are not 
lacking Filipinos who, preferring their own personal interests or mere con¬ 
venience to the high and sacred interests of the community, and fearing to 
lose the prebends they enjoy under the present transitory situation, are prone 
to favor a conditional or limited independence, but the number of those 
Filipinos is, fortunately for us, limited. If in the limited sphere of the twelve 
disciples of Christ there did not lack one who trafficked the life of the Master, 
how is it to be prevented that among ten million inhabitants of this Archi¬ 
pelago, above all, in the ranks of the parasites on the public coffers, who enjoy 
huge salaries, there should be some recalcitrants who attempt to prolong the 
present status quo and are turning traitors to the supreme ideal of the 
country through barters that will disfigure its fulfillment? 

But the attitude of the young men of the “ Columbian ” demonstrates besides 
the worthlesness of those \vho attempt to form a chasm or a void betwixt the 
past and the present, between those who would find an antagonism between 
the spiritual direction of those that are gone, and that of those living and 
are to be. 

It is futile to establish a radical difference between the Filipinos of yesterday 
and the Filipinos of to-morrow, through the antithesis of languages, without 
Diking into account that the glorious traditions of the past will subsist peren¬ 
nially in the feelings of the present and future generations, notwithstanding 
attempts to clothe them with the robe of different languages. 

The ideal consecrated by the blood of the heroes and martyrs of the past is a 
vigorous tree which have conserved and will conserve forever its verdure and 
luxuriance. It is the chain of gold and ray of light which has united the past 
with the present and which is to link the present with the future in a union 
that will be closer and stronger as the days go by. 

It does not matter that the Filipinos of yesterday have spoken the Spanish 
language or the native vernaculars, that those of the present speak the Spanish 
or the"English, or that those of the future will speak English only or the 
Esperanto. This will not shatter the substantial unity of the Filipino people. 
The diversity of languages does not matter. \\ hen necessary, present and 
future generations will show that they are animated by the same spirit and 


92 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


tlie same ideal that animated the past generation; they will show that the 
patriotism of those who offered their lives in the holocaust, at the altar of 
liberty, liveth in and inspires the present; they will prove that the Filipino is 
Filipino although attired as a European, although he speaks a borrowed tongue. 
The form may be changed, but the substance will remain the same and identical. 


[La Vanguardia, Feb. 8, 1919.] 

THE LINK OF OUR HISTORY. 

The voice of the intelligent youth, that which has faith in its own effort and 
which confronts the future face to face, without vacillations or doubts, made 
itself heard last night in the Philippine Columbian Association in a resolution 
made public, after a debate, advocating absolute independence for the Philip¬ 
pines and the recognition of its national existence within the fraternal circle of 
the League of Nations. 

Such a feeling, coming as it does from a respectable entity, composed mainly 
of young men educated in the ambient air of liberty in the universities and 
centers of learning in the United States, has an exceptional value for us at the 
present moment. It reveals that the past speaks in the present with the same 
traditional force that characterized the historic cry for emancipation which 
began in Balintawak, continued in the revolution, and lias perpetrated itself 
across vicissitudes and difficulties placed on the way up to the present time. 

These youths know and are learning better than ever, under the stimuli of the 
new atmosphere, where national dogma begins and where partisan, sectarian 
and sectional ideal ends. They fathom our own history; they know that under 
the old sovereignty, pillared on the cross and on the sword, there were some 
false apostles, who told us that with the contact with a strong and vigorous 
race such as the American, we Filipinos would end by succumbing in the pacific 
struggle. 

They know now that those prophets totally failed in their predictions, because 
it is clear as day, in contact with adventurous men, that the Filipino people 
learned in twenty years what it is to struggle, organize and exert efforts to 
defend one’s own, to exalt the stamp of one’s own personality, a thing which 
we did not learn as rapidly in more than three centuries. 

We see in such a manifestation by the young men of the Columbian Associa¬ 
tion the ratification of the faith of the entire people, which in the present, as in 
the past, desire to march united and resolute in the pathway of their own 
destiny. 

Those young men drank in the same fountains of liberty and of democracy, 
having been sent by their country to a foreign land, in order to sanctify the 
legacy of a past; and to-day, when, after a tremendous disaster, the world 
longs to mould new forms of life beneath the lofty principles of justice, theirs 
is the privilege to be able to say without reservation that they are for the same 
aspiration for which the youth of our historic age, led by Rizal, Luna, and 
Bonifacio, sacrificed their lives. 

[El Ideal, Feb. 8, 1919.] 

UNITED ALL. 

Up to the present there has been an unfounded prejudice that the Filipino 
youth educated outside of the confines of the Philippines was distinct from the 
general mass of the people in so far as concerns the prompt solution of our 
suit for liberty. Responsible for that, in no small degree, was the pretension 
of certain foreign elements who desire to pose as mentors of that valuable por¬ 
tion of our youth, segregating them from the spirit which has animated us in 
our struggles of the past and of the present for the political emancipation of 
our country. But the spirit of nationality works with more force than all the 
insiduous maneuvers, and the continuity of our history will never be torn 
asunder, to judge from the spontaneous utterances of this brilliant nursery of 
our youths. It pleases us to recognize that in these critical moments of 
struggle, we are in fact united, a single heart as it were, giving evidence of 
our own personality as a people who know what they have in their hands. 

The Philippine Columbian Association, composed of the intelligent youths 
of an approaching generation, in manifesting unequivocally its conscious and 
decided attitude in favor of absolute political independence for the Philippines, 
has shown that it cherishes within its bosom the purest and most solid tradi¬ 
tions of the Filipino race. 




PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


93 


[El Debate, Feb. 11, 1919.] 

DESPOILERS WHO FAILED. 

There are about us certain rare birds who in their desire to attract to their 
ni:inner of thinking on our national problem the unwary portion of the youth 
1! e country ’ -i ve them, in the attempt to woo them, the sonorous phrase 

the new generation.” At other times, in order to give variety to the phraseol¬ 
ogy, but one and identical in import, they speak of the “ old school ” and the 

new school.” 

The insistence with which the song is repeated, under any pretext, because 
of a fault of our leaders or of a most daring intrepidity on the part of some 
unseasonable politicians, denotes a dangerous purpose of divorcing the opinion 
and the sentiments of the Filipino youth from those of their elders, poisoning 
the unprepared mind of the former with unfounded prejudices, to end in the 
opening of a profound cleavage between our men of to-day and those of to¬ 
morrow. 

r l hat a chick fresh from its shell chirps with enthusiasm and force, accord¬ 
ing to them, portends talent; and if it occurs to it to criticize with the audacity 
of its youth any state of things actually existing, then it is an example which 
should be looked at with blush and shame by the old school, Osmena and 
Quezon, although the unhappy soul does nothing but repeat vulgarities that we 
are tired of hearing. And if the chick, in the attempt to try the power of its 
literary wings, enters the fields of politics and makes a grimace and assumes a 
peevish pose of importance, or feigns impatience for the political future of his 
country, which has not had the time to feel the same, ah! then, he is a genius 
who, for the good of the country, ought to be placed immediately at the head 
of the government. 

There are candid youths, not accustomed to barterings, who take these cooings 
on their vanity seriously, and in fact come to feel that they are redeemers 
before time. Nevertheless, the majority of our young men, it is just to say so, 
possess sufficient self-control and do not allow themselves to be influenced by 
such flatteries. And, at last, the disappointment of the machiaveles increases, 
and now it is felt in their prejudices and preoccupations alone, at least, more 
than yesterday. 

The resolution of the Philippine Columbian Association, in favor of the 
absolute independence of the islands, is a beautiful symptom and a valuable 
lesson. At all events the recourse remains of saying that the members of the 
Columbian are not young men nor are they of the new school. Because, to 
judge from what is occurring, the new generation, of which their would-be 
despoilers so often speak, is that which is coming, but never arrives. 

And, incidentally, that is, more or less, the kind of national liberty that they 
would have for the country. 

I will be glad to answer any questions that the members of the 
committee may have. 

Mr. Fairfield. How many Filipino students have attended Ameri¬ 
can colleges? 

Mr. Santos. You mean graduates of American universities? 

Mr. Fairfield. Yes. 

Mr. Santos. There must be about three hundred in the Philippines 
now. There are more here in the United States. 

Mr. Fairfield. Did those 300 come from homes of wealth and 
influence, or are any of them from what might be called the humbler 
people ? 

Mr. Santos. They are a fairly representative class. They came 
from all kinds of families. Some came from poor families and 
others from rich families. 

Mr. Fairfield. This is very interesting, as indicative of the dis¬ 
tribution of intelligence and opportunity that is offorded to the poor 
boy who starts without promise or much hope that he will have an 
opportunity to rise. 


94 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Mr. Santos. Most of these graduates are what we might call self- 
made men. They supported themselves during the time that they 
were studying. 

Mr. Hulings. Has this delegation got a bill to present, such as 
they would desire to have the American Congress pass? Have they 
prepared a bill? 

The Chairman. The delegation presented a memorial passed by 
the legislation of the islands, which is made a part of the record and 
which sets out in full their desires, and I presume that is going to be 
introduced in Congress and made a matter of record there. 

Mr. Fairfield. Have you got any record, or do you know the 
amount of money that has been expended by the American Govern¬ 
ment for the betterment of the Filipinos? 

Mr. Santos. I have no specific figures, but on the money expended 
by the American Government in the Philippines my information is, 
for the support of the Army and Navy- 

Mr. Fairfield (interposing). Well, there is a great deal beside 
that which is expended for the Army and Navy. 

Mr. Santos. The insular government is practically—is entirely 
self-supporting. 

Mr. Fairfield. Now, does it run in the minds of those who desire 
Filipino independence that the Philippines should assume the Philip¬ 
pine debt ? 

Mr. Santos. I think we might adopt some sort of an arrangement 
whereby the Philippine debt would be taken care of. 

Mr. Fairfield. How does that run in the minds of the people that 
are seeking independence ? What is your idea about it ? 

Mr. Santos. The people seem to be quite ready to assume the bur¬ 
dens that go along with independence. 

Mr. Quezon. I am going to present now the secretary of the 
Philippine Mission. He is a young Filipino educated in part in the 
United States. He comes from a modest family, and when he came 
to the United States he had to work to support himself—Mr. Maximo 
Kalaw. 

STATEMENT OF MR. MAXIMO M. KALAW, SECRETARY OF THE 
PHILIPPINE MISSION. 

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I should like to 
call the attention of the committee to the memorial that has been 
presented to the committee by the chairman of the Philippine 
mission, which states the official attitude of the Filipino people. In¬ 
asmuch as the memorial has not been read, I think, by the committee, 
I shall touch briefly on its fundamental points. The memorial con¬ 
tains three documents. One is the memorial proper of the Philip¬ 
pine mission, and the others are the resolution passed by the Philip¬ 
pine Legislature entitled “ Declaration of purposes,” and the instruc¬ 
tions of the commission of independence to the Philippine mission. 
It will be noted that the “Declaration of purposes,” or the resolu¬ 
tion which instructs the commission of independence as to the ways 
and means of securing independence sets forth the official attitude of 
the Filipino people, being the one passed by their constitutional 
representatives. 



PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


95 


It may be recalled that the Philippine mission is simply the agency 
of the commission of independence, which is a joint committee of 
the Philippine Legislature, and that this commission of independence 
is in turn a creation of the Philippine Legislature in its session of 
1918. The Philippine Legislature created the commission to study 
and report to the legislature as to the ways and means of securing 
the independence of the Philippines. 

Now I would like to call the attention of the committee to the dec¬ 
laration of purposes of the Philippine Legislature, the first paragraph 
of which reads thus: 

The Philippine question has reached such a stage that full and final exchange 
of views between the United States of America and the Philippine Islands has 
become necessary. We need not repeat the declarations respecting the national 
aspirations of the Filipino people. Such declarations have been made from 
time to time in the most frank and solemn manner by the constitutional rep¬ 
resentatives of the Philippine* Nation, and are a matter of permanent record in 
public documents, covering more than a decade of persistent effort, particu¬ 
larly during the last three years. America, on her part, has been sufficiently 
explicit in her purposes from the beginning of her occupation of the Philippines. 

Then comes a rehearsal of the statements by the different presi¬ 
dents of the United States, on the attitude of the United States 
toward the Philippine question; utterances by Presidents McKinley, 
Eoosevelt, and Taft are cited to show that the actual policy of the 
United States toward the Philippines has been ultimate independence 
of the islands, and that the decision as to the time when that inde¬ 
pendence should be granted is left to future negotiations between the 
two peoples, as soon as there has been established a stable government 
in the Philippines. 

This policy was ratified by the Congress of the United States 
when it passed the Jones Law r on August 29, 1916, which declared 
that independence of the Philippines should be granted as soon as 
stable government can be established therein. The Jones Law was 
the first legislation touching Filipino-American relations which 
received the support of the Filipino people. In the words of the 
resolution of the legislature the Jones Law became a “ pact, virtu¬ 
ally consummated between the Americans and the Filipinos, analo¬ 
gous to that established between America and Cuba by the passage 
of the Teller resolution.” In other words, in the opinion of the 
legislature the Jones Law has become a sort of a constitutional com¬ 
pact between the United States and the Philippines, by virtue of 
which an understanding has been reached between the two peoples 
that as soon as a stable government can be established in the Philip¬ 
pines, the independence of the islands shall be granted. 

Now, in sending the special mission to the United States and in 
passing this resolution, the Philippine Legislature has come to the 
conclusion, first: 

That there exist at present in the Philippine Islands the conditions of order 
and government which America has for nearly a century and a half required 
in all cases in which she has recognized the independence of a country or the 
establishment of a new government; 

That there exist likewise in the Philippines all the conditions of stability and 
guaranties for law and order that Cuba had to establish to the satisfaction 
of America, in order to obtain her independence or to preserve it during the 
military occupations of 1898-1902, and during the intervention of 1906-1909, 
respectively; 


96 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


That the “ preparation for independence ” and the “ stable government ” 
repuired by President Wilson and the Congress of the United States respec¬ 
tively contain no new requisite not included in any of the cases above cited; 

That the prerequisites for Philippine independence are the same as those vir¬ 
tually or expressly established by the Republican administrations that pre¬ 
ceded President Wilson’s administration. 

Now I would like, just as briefly as I may, to state the facts as to 
why the Philippine Legislature thinks that at present there are now 
those conditions of stability which were required of Cuba and 
which are evidently to be required of the Philippines previous to 
the granting of Philippine independence. 

I do not need to call to the attention of the committee the facts 
that are so common in American international law and the ways 
and means whereby the United States has recognized the independ¬ 
ence of new States. I will just quote the statement of President 
Grant when the question came up of recognizing the independence 
of Cuba. He said : 

When a considerable body of people who have attempted to free themselves 
of the control of a superior government have reached such a point in oc¬ 
cupation of territory, in power and in general organization as to constitute in 
fact a body politic, having a government in substance as well as in name 
possessed of the elements of stability, and equipped with the machinery for 
the administration of internal policy and the execution of its laws, prepared 
and able to administer justice at home, as well as in its dealing with other 
powers, it is within the province of those other powers to recognize its exist¬ 
ence as a new and independent nation. 

To establish the condition of things essential to the recognition of this fact, 
there must be a people occupying a known territory, united under some known 
and defined form of government, acknowledged by those subject thereto, in 
which the functions of government are administered by usual methods, com¬ 
petent to mete out justice to citizens and strangers, to afford remedies for public 
and for private wrongs, and able to assume the correlative international obli¬ 
gations and capable of performing the corresponding international duties re¬ 
sulting from its acquisition of the rights of sovereignty. 

President McKinley, when confronted with the same problem 
of the recognition of Cuban independence, quoted the very words of 
President Grant, saying: 

The United States, in addition to the test imposed by public law as the con¬ 
dition of the recognition of independence by a neutral state (to wit, that the 
revolted state shall “ constitute in fact a body politic, having a government in 
substance as well as in name, possessed of all the elements of stability,” and 
forming de facto, “ if left to itself, a state among the nations, reasonably capa¬ 
ble of discharging the duties of a state”), has imposed for its own government 
in dealing with cases like these the further condition that recognition of in¬ 
dependent statehood is not due to a revolted dependency until the danger of 
its being again subjugated by the parent state has entirely passed away. 

That, I think, has been the basis of the recognition by the United 
States of all new states and governments—a de facto" government 
supported by the people capable of fulfilling all obligations. But 
the most pertinent example—because you might think that in giving 
independence to a country which is temporarily subject to the 
sovereignty of the United States, the United States is in duty bound, 
internationally, to require stricter conditions before such inde¬ 
pendence is granted—is the case of Cuba. In this case the same 
condition of a “ stable government ” had been required precedent to 
the granting of independence by the United States. The case of 
Cuba is, as you will recall, the precedent that the Philippine Legis¬ 
lature had in mind when it passed the resolution for a declaration 
of purposes. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 97 

Mr. Garrett. Would it interrupt your train of thought to make 
an inquiry there? 

Mr. Kalaw. No, sir. 

Mr. Garrett. I do not wish to interrupt your train of thought, 
but I think it possible that the references to Cuba contained in the 
resolutions of your legislature may have been misconstrued in some 
quarters, if I myself understand those resolutions correctly, and so 
I wish to ask you now if you understand that the resolutions of the 
legislature in referring to Cuba meant that the Legislature of the 
Philippines desired a protectorate on the part of this Government 
the same as was extended to Cuba ? 

Mr. Kalaw. No, sir; the reference only referred to the condi¬ 
tion of stability that was required of Cuba previous to the recognition 
of her independence; it does not refer to the relations between Cuba 
and the United States at all. It simply sets the American policy 
toward Cuba as a precedent for the Philippines, for the condition 
required of Cuba—the establishment of a stable form of govern¬ 
ment—is also the prerequisite required in the preamble of the Jones 
law. 

Mr. Garrett. That was my understanding of the purpose of the 
use of the language used in your resolution, but as I have said, I think 
it not improbable that in some quarters that reference has been mis¬ 
understood, and now, in order to make the record complete, may I ask 
you if there is anywhere in the resolutions of the legislature any 
language which was intended to be construed as a request on the 
part of the Legislature of the Philippines that there should be an 
American protectorate over the Philippines? 

Mr. Kalaw. No, sir; nothing. 

The Chairman. I again call your attention to the same matter. 
There is nothing, I suppose, intended to indicate that the Filipino 
people desire the same conditions to exist subsequent to the acknowl¬ 
edgment of its independence that existed with regard to Cuba, namely, 
the reservation of the right to interfere on the part of the United 
States in the case of disturbances. 

Mr. Kalaw. No, sir; but if you will kindly allow me to proceed, 
I think I can make myself better understood as to why I think 
the Philippine Legislature referred to that case of Cuba. The main 
reason was to avoid any misinterpretation as to the phrase “ stable 
government.” Lest there be given other interpretations to the 
phrase, the Philippine Legislature has simply repeated the concise 
and definite meaning given it in American international law. 

Gentlemen very well know that President McKinley was the man 
responsible for the international policy during this Spanish-Ameri¬ 
can War. He was the man responsible in a large measure for the 
independence of Cuba, and in his message of April 11, 1898, when he 
told of the terrible conditions in Cuba, he mentioned especially the 
fact that there must be established there a stable form of govern¬ 
ment before Cuban independence could be recognized. He said: 

In view of these facts and these considerations, I ask Congress to au¬ 
thorize and empower the President to take measures to secure a full and 
final termination of hostilities between the Government of Spain and the people 
of Cuba, and to secure in the island the establishment of a stable government, 
capable of maintaining order and serving its international obligations, insuring 

122031—19-7 


98 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


peace and tranquillity and the security of its citizens as well as of our own, 
and to use the military and naval forces of the United States as may be neces¬ 
sary for these purposes. 

In pursuance of that message, and of the treaty of Paris, in which 
Spain withdrew her sovereignty from Cuba, the United States pro¬ 
ceeded to establish what they called a stable form of government. 
By instruction of the Secretary of War the military governor, Gen. 
Wood, called a constitutional convention to draft a constitution, and 
the instruction he gave to that convention was the following: 

It will be your duty, first, to frame and adopt a constitution of Cuba adequate 
to secure a stable, orderly^ and free government. 

Then again Secretary of War Root, in explaining further exactly 
the kind of government required of Cuba, said: 

It is plain that the government to which we were asked to transfer our 
temporary obligations should be a government based upon the peaceful suffrages 
of the Cuban people representing the entire people and holding their power 
from the people, and subject to the limitations and safeguards which the 
experience of constitutional government has shown to be necessary to the 
preservation of individual rights. 

In the official account of the American Government, published by 
the War Department, describing the procedure of establishing the 
Cuban Government, I find the following statement: 

The occupation of the island by the United States having been established, 
it was necessary to enter upon the work of creating and establishing a stable 
government—note exactly the same words—administered by the Cuban people, 
republican in form, and competent to discharge the obligations of international 
relationship and be entitled to a place in the family of nations. 

As soon as the constitution was established and the President and 
Vice President, the legislature, and the local governments were 
properly elected, the American Government pronounced that there 
was a stable government in Cuba, and turned over all the govern¬ 
mental powers to the Cuban people. The meaning that was given 
then to the phrase stable government was simply a government 
elected by the people and supported by the people. This interpreta¬ 
tion was again applied when in 1906 President Palma requested the 
intervention of the United States because of illegalities in the elec¬ 
tions, and Secretary of War Taft was sent to Cuba to establish a 
stable government—that is, a government elected by the people. In 
the words of Secretary Taft himself: 

Cuba must be returned to the Cuban Government, fairly elected, as soon as 
conditions, and the tranquillity of the country will permit, and assure the 
stability of the government there. 

And as soon as the presidents and vice presidents were elected and 
there was a government supported by the people, again it was pro¬ 
nounced that there was a stable government in Cuba. 

The phrase “ stable government ” was first used in connection with 
the Philippines in the Democratic platform of 1900. In that year 
the Democrats proposed to established a stable form of government 
in the Philippines similar to the one that was being established in 
Cuba and then grant them independence. Mr. Bryan, who was the 
author of the Philippine plank in the Democratic platform, in his 
speech accepting the nomination for the Presidency, said: 

If elected I will convene Congress in extraordinary session as soon as inau¬ 
gurated and recommend an immediate declaration of the Nation’s purpose, first, 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


99 


to establish a stable form of government in the Philippine Islands, just as we 
are now establishing a stable form of government in Cuba; second, to give 
independence to the Filipinos as we have promised to give independence to the 
Cubans. 

His opponent, President McKinley, did not differ from him as to 
the kind of government a “ stable government ” meant, but he did 
not favor at that time the establishment in the Philippines of such 
a government. He said: 

We are required to set up a stable government in the interest of those who 
have assailed our sovereignty and fired upon our soldiers, and then maintain 
it at any cost or sacrifice against its enemies and against those having ambi¬ 
tious designs from without. 

The Democratic platform of 1904 advocated the same plan without 
using the phrase “ stable government.” It read: 

We insist that we ought to do for the Filipinos what we have done already 
for the Cubans, and it is our duty to make that promise now and upon suitable 
guarantees of protection to citizens of our own and other countries resident 
there at the time of our withdrawal, set the Filipino people upon their feet, 
free and independent to work out their own destiny. 

The Democratic platform of 1908 and 1912 contained the fol¬ 
lowing : 

We favor an immediate declaration of the Nation’s purpose to recognize the 
independence of the Philippine Islands as soon as a stable government can be 
established. 

As will be noticed, the preamble to the Jones law was taken ver¬ 
batim from the foregoing plank. 

In the final settlement of the Philippine independence question, 
would the United States give any possible interpretation to the 
phrase “ stable government ” other than that which she had in the 
past, by a long line of precedents, given it? We doubt it. Nothing 
but a desire to evade the fulfillment of the promise would put a 
different interpretation to the pledge the American people have 
given to the Filipinos. A stable government can not mean any other 
thing than what America has meant in Cuba. That is the only kind 
of government that can be termed “ stable ”—one that is supported 
and upheld by the people themselves through their peaceful suf¬ 
frages. No other criterion for the stability of a human institution 
can be had than the fact that it rests upon the will of the people 
expressed through legal channels. 

That the Philippines now possess such a kind of government—a 
government elected by the people, capable of keeping order and ful¬ 
filling international obligations—is the firm conviction of the* Fili¬ 
pino people as expressed by their constitutional representatives. 
That is why they deem it absolutely essential that the final settlement 
ot the independence question be now made once for all. 

Our present government, to quote Mr. Root’s admonition to the 
Cuban people, is “ a government based upon the peaceful suffrage 
of the people, representing the entire people and holding their power 
from the people, and subject to the limitations and safeguards which 
the experience of a constitutional government has shown to be neces¬ 
sary to the preservation of individual rights.” 

Our central, provincial, and municipal governments rest upon the 
peaceful suffrages of the Filipino people. For more than a decade 
we have been successfully conducting through popular suffrage our 


100 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


provincial and municipal governments. “ Native Filipino officials,” 
says Gov. Gen. Harrison, “ are to-day governing 1,000 mu¬ 
nicipalities and 42 Provinces, economically, efficiently, and for the 
good of the entire people.” Our central government, as we have 
noted elsewhere, contains a complete governmental machinery, 
recognized and supported by the people. The active and govern¬ 
ing part of that machinery is already in the hands of the Filipinos. 
We have an elective legislature, composed of the house of repre¬ 
sentatives and a senate, chosen by the qualified voters of the islands. 
It has general legislative poAvers within the limitations of the Jones 
law. In that legislature the non-Christian people are also repre¬ 
sented by nine appointed members. In June of this year (1919) 
there will be a new election of the legislature, and the Filipino 
people will again be called upon to choose their national represen¬ 
tatives. ' 

We have a council of state selected from the representatives of the 
people, which advises the governor general on all public matters, 
prepares the budget, determines the policy of the different depart¬ 
ments of the government, and recommends measures to the legisla¬ 
ture. While the governor presides over the council, the next highest 
position is the vice president of the council, occupied by a Filipino. 

We have a judicial system based on the sound American principle 
of an independent judiciary. Our laws and our courts are more 
modern and up-to-date than any in the Far East. Our codes are 
based on Spanish and American laws, taking in the conciseness, 
symmetry, and philosophic beauty of Spanish substantive law, to¬ 
gether with the justice, practicability, efficiency of American pro¬ 
cedure. Our judges, with a few exceptions, are all Filipinos, and 
they have proven that they can administer justice fairly and effi¬ 
ciently to nationals and foreigners alike. In this respect the Philip¬ 
pines are already more autonomous than independent China, for 
Chinese native judges can not try foreigners. These are tried in 
extraterritorial courts by foreign magistrates. 

Our present government is “ subject to the limitations and safe¬ 
guards which the experience of a constitutional government has 
shown to be necessary to the preservation of individual rights.” 
The Philippine government has been subject to such limitations and 
safeguards since 1900, when President McKinley in his instructions 
to the second Philippine commission set down* as inviolable rules 
the fundamental provisions of the American bill of rights. Those 
provisions with little modification were later included in the or¬ 
ganic act of 1902, and again restated in the Jones law of 1916. 
For nearly 20 years, therefore, the Philippine government has been 
subject to constitutional limitations and safeguards. They are em¬ 
bedded in the political life of the people, and no matter what political 
change may occur in the Philippines they will hardly find any ma¬ 
terial alteration. 

Thus we see that the Filipino people have an actual decisive voice 
in the government of their country. In the words of Secretary of 
War Baker, who has departmental supervision of the Philippines, 
“the functions of government have been taken over by the people 
of the islands themselves, leaving only the tenuous connection of 
the governor general.” The governor general may leave to-morrow, 
and no institutional change will be necessary to continue the work of 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


101 


government. There is a stable governmental machinery set up and 
supported by the entire people and representing the entire people 
to which the governmental powers can be transferred. Under such 
a contingency the vice president of the council of state, who has 
been raised to that position by the representatives of the people, will 
naturally assume the place of the chief executive, and the government 
could go on as before until the Filipino people should see fit to hold 
a constitutional convention for the drafting of a new constitution 
and the establishment of a new government. 

But we have not only established a stable government which sat¬ 
isfies all the conditions required by the United States. The very 
minute such a government was established in Cuba, the United 
States withdrew and turned over all the governmental powers to the 
newly established government. They did not wait to see how that 
stable government would work. It was sufficient for them that such a 
government—a government elected by the people—existed. Once 
convinced of that fact, they did not feel themselves justified in re¬ 
maining a minute longer. 

The members of the Philippine mission who have preceded me have 
dwelt on the progress that has been accomplished by this stable 
Philippine government during the last few years. The growth of 
commerce, the economic development, the phenomenal growth of 
schools, the successful treatment of the non-Christian tribes—all 
these have been treated by members of the Philippine mission who 
have direct connection with these activities. 

American executive officials, including President Wilson and Gov. 
Gen. Harrison, are already satisfied that the Filipinos have estab¬ 
lished a stable government, and that therefore they have already 
performed their part of the “ pact ” or covenant with the American 
people. It would seem that it is now up to the American people, 
through their constitutional representatives, the American Congress, 
to perform their part of this constitutional covenant. 

That is all I wish to say, gentlemen. 

The Chairman. Are there any questions upon the part of any 
members of the committee ? 

Mr. Hulings. Would the Filipinos consent, or would they like to 
see some such reservations in the declaration of independence as was 
made in the case of Cuba? 

Mr. Kalaw. Some reservation ? 

Mr. Hulings. Some reservation of the right of the United States 
to go in there and preserve peace, as the reservation existed in the 
case of Cuba? What do the Filipinos think about that? 

Mr. Kalaw. Well, if I may quote from the official utterances of 
Filipino representatives, the following would answer the question: 

Now that the war is over and the world is engaged in applying the prin¬ 
ciples that have come out triumphant, and now that the Filipino people have 
met the test to which their capacity has been submitted, can it be deemed 
inopportune or ill advised for them to submit the pending question to the 
United States, or even to any competent tribunal of the world for its final 
adjustment? 

Then I wish you would listen to the following sentence, which I 
think answers the question: 

The problem being so varied in its aspects, the Filipino people will welcome 
the opportunity to discuss the terms of the declaration of independence and the 


102 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


scope of the covenants necessary for the guaranty of safety and stability of 
the new state, and for the. establishment and maintenance of such external 
relations, especially with America, as may be equitable and beneficial as cir¬ 
cumstances may demand. 

Mr. Hulings. I understood that, but the question is how do you 
think the Filipino people would regard a reservation of the right 
of the United States to go into the Philipines in future, as it has in 
the past into Cuba, when their government seems to be falling to 
pieces? The United States sent troops in there under those circum¬ 
stances; now what would the people of the Philipines think about 
that—or what would your commission think of it? 

Mr. Kalaw. I think that has been discussed by the other gentle¬ 
men of the mission, to the effect that the Filipinos will welcome any 
independence; if it is absolute, they will have it just the same. 

The Chairman. Are there any other interrogatories, gentlemen ? 

Mr. Fairfield. Might I inquire whether there has been any formal 
presentation of the Philippine question before the peace conference 
at Paris? 

Mr. Kalaw. No, sir. I know that the nationalist party, the party 
in power, proposed the creation of this commission of independence 
for the purpose of reporting back to the legislature as to the ways 
and means of securing that independence. The first step taken by 
the commission was the sending of this Philippine mission to the 
United States. 

Mr. Fairfield. Well, you understand that if the league of nations 
should be established, one of the covenants is that territorial integ¬ 
rity of all the signatories shall be defended by all the other nations 
of the world. In case of the adoption of the covenant, the Philip¬ 
pine Islands would be forever subject to whatever disposition the 
Government of the United States might see fit to make; so that per¬ 
manently we might refuse independence, and the Philippines would 
be under the necessity of making war against the whole world if 
they were to assert their independence and secure it by the gauge 
of battle. So that it might be well, in view of such a possibility, 
to take it before the men that are to determine all these things. 

Mr. Kalaw. You mean take it directly to the peace conference? 

Mr. Fairfield. I was just wondering what your thought was on 
that. 

Mr. Kalaw. I think it would have been a grievous discourtesy to 
the Congress of the United States if the Filipino people had gone 
over the head of Congress to the peace conference for a decision of 
the Philippine question. Congress itself had promised the inde¬ 
pendence of the Philippines as soon as a stable government could be 
established in the islands; and to go over its head, I think, would 
have shown distrust on the part of the people of the Philippine 
Islands toward Congress and the American people. 

Mr. Fairfield. I think you are quite right there. 

Mr. Garrett. In answer to the inquiry of Gen. Hulings, you read 
from a document. May I ask, was that the document from which you 
read the resolutions of the legislature, or was that the memorial of 
the commission? 

Mr. Kalaw. The last one that I read ? 

Mr. Garrett. Yes, sir. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


103 


Mr. Kalaw. That is from the instruction of the Commission of 
Independence to the Philippine Mission. As I said, there are three 
documents in the papers that are handed to the committee. One is 
the memorial proper, and the other two are appendices to the me¬ 
morial, the resolution of the Filipino Legislature, and the instruc¬ 
tions of the Commission of Independence, a joint committee of the 
legislature. These instructions are addressed to the Philippine 
Mission here. 

Mr. Garrett. And that from which you read last was what? 

Mr. Kalaw. From the instructions of the Commission of Inde¬ 
pendence to the Philippine Mission. 

Mr. Garrett. And the reference therein to a conference between 
the Philippine people and the Government of the United States— 
did that mean a conference in advance of action by Congress or 
following action by Congress? ’ How is that to be taken? 

Mr. Kalaw. The resolution read “ representatives of the two peo¬ 
ples.” 

Mr. Garrett. Did it mean before or after action by Congress? Or 
do you care to answer that question? 

Mr. Kalaw. I think they would abide by the understanding be¬ 
tween the two peoples, through their respective representatives. 

Mr. Garrett. The whole thing which I am trying to get at is 
whether or not—and this is going back to the line of inquiry which 
I made a few moments ago—whether or not in any of the official 
utterances, either of the legislature, of the independence commis¬ 
sion, or of your mission, there is anything looking toward a sug¬ 
gestion upon the part of the Filipino people of a desire for a pro¬ 
tectorate of the United States? 

Mr. Kalaw. Absolutely nothing, sir. 

Mr. Garrett. Or of a provision for intervention by the United 
States Government in the internal affairs of the Philippine Islands? 

Mr. Kalaw. Nothing of the sort, sir. 

Mr. Hulings. How would they regard it? How would the Philip¬ 
pine people regard it? 

Mr. K ala w. Kegard it? 

Mr. Hulings How would they regard the right of intervention 
or a protectorate? 

Mr. Kalaw. The official resolutions of the representatives of the 
people state that the gratitude toward America will be the funda¬ 
mental factor in their future relations with the United States. I 
believe that anything that is compatible with their rights of sover¬ 
eignty and their welfare would be acceptable to them. 

*Mr. Hulings. How would the commission regard it? Has it been 
publicly discussed? . _ . 

Mr. Kalaw. No ; that has not been publicly discussed, and I think 
the reason is perfectly plain. We come here to ask for independence, 
and if we put any string to it we would not be working for inde¬ 
pendence. ^ 

Mr. Hulings (interposing). You want independence without any 

strings to it ? 

Mr. Kalaw. With or without. 


104 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


The Chairman. In so far as the conditions or anything of that sort 
is concerned, there are none of them contained, either in the memorial 
or in the instructions that are given you as a commission? 

Mr. Kalaw. I beg your pardon. 

The Chairman. I was asking the question to clear up the matter. 
There is nothing contained, either in the memorial to Congress or in 
the instructions of the joint committees of the legislature, or in the 
resolution of instructions by the legislature—there is nothing in 
either of them that refers or specifies any conditions attached to the 
request ? 

Mr. Kalaw. Nothing whatever, sir. 

The Chairman. The memorial simply asks for independence. 
And the further statement is made that a conference may be had be¬ 
tween the two countries? 

Mr. Kalaw, Yes, sir. 

The Chairman. Regarding the terms of independence? 

Mr. Kalaw. Yes, sir. 

The Chairman. That is a correct statement, is it not, of the 
situation ? 

Mr. Kalaw. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Quezon. Mr. Chairman, while there are still members of the 
mission who have not made any statement, we think that those 
who have spoken have given the committee a fair idea of what we 
have come here for, and we propose not to present any other mem¬ 
ber of the mission unless the committee directs otherwise. 

I have, however, requested the Governor General of the Philippine 
Islands to say a few words to the committee. The Governor Gen¬ 
eral, as the committee knows, is the official representative of the 
United States in the Philippines. It might be of interest to the 
committee to know that we have never considered the Philippine 
question as a party issue in the Philippines. No President has ever 
spoken to the people of the Philippine Islands in the name of his 
party, but always in the name of this Government. No Governor 
General has ever spoken to the people of the Philippine Islands in 
the name of his party, but by the authority of the President who 
has appointed him. And so when President McKinley, who was 
President of the United States when the Philippine Islands came 
under the control of this Government spoke, he spoke of the pur¬ 
poses and aims of the United States; and when President Taft, as 
his first Governor General in the islands, the first President of the 
American commission, spoke for the people of the Philippines, he 
spoke in the name and on behalf of his Government. So it has 
been all along the line, up to the present Governor General. He has, 
in our opinion, followed up the policy of this Government legally 
as well as in spirit, as those policies have been expressed by Presi¬ 
dents of the United States and finally by the act of Congress, and 
he, better than anyone else, can from an impartial point of view 
give an idea to the committee of conditions in the Philippines. 

I want to say before I close that Governor General Harrison has 
earned the affection and gratitude of the people of the Philippines in 
dealing with the Philippine problem. 

The Chairman. The committee will be very glad indeed to hear 
the Governor General. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 105 

STATEMENT OF HON. FRANCIS BURTON HARRISON, GOVERNOR 
GENERAL OF THE PHILIPPINES. 

Mr. Harrison. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, in 
what I shall have to say I request to be considered as expressing only 
my own opinions and views because I have as yet not had an oppor¬ 
tunity to report to the President. 

I am very glad that upon my vacation visit to our country I have 
been privileged to attend these hearings and listen to the extremely 
interesting statements made by the members of the Philippine mis¬ 
sion, and I am also very glad of the opportunity to go on record 
as being entirely in sympathy with the purposes of the mission, and as 
supporting most heartily their request to the Congress for the grant¬ 
ing of independence. 

Some of my friends have asked me whether the Filipinos were not 
so well satisfied to-day with what has already been given them in the 
way of political concessions, that the desire for independence has 
been dying down; and I have been able to explain to them that I 
consider the desire for independence to be so widespread as to be 
practically universal throughout the entire citizenship of the Philip¬ 
pine Islands. A few years ago independence was the theme of prac¬ 
tically every address made at public meetings, at banquets, and even 
at school it was the subject of general discussion by the school chil¬ 
dren. 

When the United States entered the world war, as if by common 
consent, speeches about the independence of the Philippines ceased 
and were not taken up again until after the armistice was signed. 
This was because the Filipino people felt that it was disrespectful 
to the Government of the United States, to which they owed so much 
of gratitude and loyalty, to be talking of independence during the 
time when our Government was putting forth the greatest efforts in 
its history. But the heart of the Filipino people has beaten un¬ 
swervingly true to independence from the beginning of American 
occupation down to the present day. 

During my service there—which fortunately for me has extended 
over a greater period of time than any one of my predecessors for 
100 years past—I have been privileged to see a tremendous develop¬ 
ment in the Philippines, economically and socially and politi¬ 
cally ; and in carrying out what I interpreted to be the instructions 
of our Government and the views of Congress as expressed in the 
act of August 29, 1916, I have always felt that I was carrying out an 
almost unbroken genesis of principle from the beginning of Ameri¬ 
can occupation. 

I corroborate what President Quezon, of the Philippine Senate, 
has just said to you, that the Philippine question has been regarded 
among the Filipino people and among Americans serving in the 
Philippines as a nonpartisan question. Each administration there 
has pursued the same general principles as its predecessor, and in 
my work, which has consisted largely of turning over many of the 
functions of government to the Filipinos themselves, I have always 
felt that I was not only carrying out the desires of President Wilson, 
but also that I was carrying out the principles laid down by Presi¬ 
dent Taft when he was governor there, when he enunciated the prin- 


106 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


ciple of “the Philippines for the Filipinos.” What differences of 
view there have been between different administrations in the Philip¬ 
pines have, it seems to me, been largely upon the question of the 
rapidity with which the general principles of the United States in 
the Philippines should be carried out. 

Now, it has struck me as a very significant and very stirring chap¬ 
ter in history that the representatives of a nation of 10,000,000 people 
should come before the United States Congress, and before the na¬ 
tional administration, and ask for their liberty, not in a spirit of 
revolt nor of discontent; not with any desire to complain or to 
criticize, but merely as an expression of their confidence in the jus¬ 
tice of the American Congress and in their belief in the high ideals of 
American principles. 

The gentlemen who have testified before you are very truly repre¬ 
sentative of the Filipino people, and as I know them, of their senti¬ 
ments and of their ideals. They have pretty fairly covered the 
ground as to the progress made in the Philippines in recent years, 
and have unequivocally and thoroughly stated the views of the Fili¬ 
pino people as to their desire for independence. 

It probably is not necessary for me to occupy your time by a 
further discussion of the points of progress which they raised. 
There are just two or three things which I heard with interest— 
questions asked by members of the committee—which I should like 
to have the privilege of touching upon. One is as to the different 
dialects or languages spoken in the Philippines. The Senator from 
Oregon questioned several members of the mission as to that. I 
think it perfectly true to say that any man with a knowledge of 
English and Spanish can travel anywhere in the Philippine Islands, 
except among the most remote inhabitants of the mountains who are 
denominated as “ non-Christians,” and can make himself understood 
anywhere with a knowledge of English and Spanish. So it is safe 
to say that every Filipino in the islands can communicate with every 
other Filipino, with the exception of a handful of non-Christians, 
either in their own dialect or through the English or Spanish 
language. 

As to the question of the stability of government there, Mr. 
Kalaw, who preceded me, stated to the committee the definitions 
recognized in international law by the United States, and I wish to 
state upon my responsibility as the governor general that in my 
opinion there exists to-day in the Philippine Islands a stable gov¬ 
ernment, which I think should answer the requirements laid down 
by Presidents Grant and McKinley, and as I understand it also, by 
Mr. Koot, namely, a government elected by the suffrages of the 
people, which is supported by the people, which is capable of main¬ 
taining order and of fulfilling its international obligations. So that 
I would be glad, if I could, to impress upon the members of this 
committee my earnest recommendation that a grant be made of 
Philippine independence at the earliest moment when in the judg¬ 
ment of the committee it is policy to do so. I use the word “ policy ” 
because while the question of independence is a mailer of principle 
on which Congress has already spoken, the matter of ihe time of the 
grant of that independence is a matter of policy which should be 
considered both from the point of view of the disturbed conditions 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


107 


of the world at this moment, before the treaty of peace is signed, 
and other considerations which may arise in the minds of the Mem¬ 
bers of Congress. 

Several questions have been asked by members of the committee 
which could not be answered by the gentleman then testifying, as 
to what form of independence the Filipinos desired, and the reply 
each time was that they desired whatever independence they could 
secure, but apparently absolute independence. I should like to 
recommend for the consideration of the committee, if the Congress 
desires to grant independence in the immediate future—and I hope 
they will—that some provision be inserted similar to what is known 
as the Platt amendment in the treaty with Cuba, which restricts the 
ability of the new Republic in borrowing of foreign governments, 
and also permits the United States to interfere with the affairs of 
the new Republic in case conditions of disorder should be found to 
prevail. Such recommendation does not come as an expression of 
the views of the Filipinos; it is my own view of what would be de¬ 
sirable to secure a feeling of confidence and satisfaction on the part 
of all persons who have already invested money in the Philippines 
or who contemplate doing so in the near future. 

I would like to touch just for a few moments on the subject of the 
Philippine race or Philippine nation. To my way of thinking, they 
are very remarkably homogeneous, quite as much so as any nation in 
the world to-day with which I have any acquaintance. From one 
end of the Philippine Islands to the other the people look very much 
alike; their manners are very much the same; their style of living 
is about the same; and they are being generally educated along the 
same lines by the government and by the private schools, which 
are cooperating with the government. So that I think they already 
have one of the prime requisites to a nationality, namely, a general 
and universal feeling that they belong to the same race of people. 
What differences exist as a result of their past history are confined 
to localities and are easily overcome by the mingling of Filipinos 
from those localities in the university and in the public schools, in 
the legislature and elsewhere. 

There is no doubt whatever in my mind that as a people they think 
very much alike on all questions that affect them as a rule, to such 
an extent that I have very little apprehension about their future con¬ 
duct if they should be granted their independence, so far as faction¬ 
alism is concerned. They are naturally of a peaceful disposition. 
Order for many years past has been perfect throughout the Philip¬ 
pine Islands. Their loyalty and gratitude toward the United States 
knows no bounds at all to-day. During the period of the war they 
not only responded with generosity and enthusiasm to every call that 
was made upon them, but they tried their best to be allowed volun¬ 
tarily to furnish substantial aid to the United States Army and to 
the United States Navy. Those matters have already been touched 
upon before you. 

I can think of only one other point, as to which I would like to 
make a few remarks* and that is as to the undue proportion of in¬ 
terest which has been shown bv the American public in the so-called 
“ non-Christians ” of the Philippines. It has been shown by the 
census which we have just taken that there are nearly ten millions 


108 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


of so-called “ Christian ” Filipinos and about 550,000 so-called “ non- 
Christian” Filipinos; the latter therefore approximately 5 per cent 
of the total. 

Mr. Hulings. Does that comprise the Mohammedans? 

Mr. Harrison. Yes, comprising the Mohammedan people as well 
as the people of the mountain Provinces. Those people are very 
picturesque in their costumes and habits. They are of very great 
interest to travelers, and they are very often the point of interest 
which is dwelt upon in our own country by travelers and temporary 
residents returning from the Philippines. But they are a very small 
proportion of the total number, and they themselves seem to welcome 
the peace which has come among them as the result of the American 
policy of attraction or conciliation. The reason, historically why the 
Moros made war upon Spain more or less intermittently for 350 
years was because they believed that the purpose of Spain in Moro- 
land was to convert the Mohammedans to Christianity, whereas they 
have been made very clearly to understand by all of us out there that 
the United States has no official religion; that we do not propose to 
interfere with their religious observances. So that they have laid 
down their arms and peace prevails at last throughout the whole 
Moro Province. 

As for the people of the mountain Provinces who are the remains 
of a still earlier immigration $nd do not seem to be of the same gen¬ 
eral race as the Filipinos, they have been only too glad voluntarily 
to lay down their spears and to stop head hunting; to send their chil¬ 
dren to the public schools and to devote their time to the cultivation 
of their rice and potatoes. 

The Filipino Legislature and the Filipino members of the cabinet 
who have had charge of the non-Christians during recent years, have 
shown the utmost consideration for them; have made iiberal and 
generous appropriations for their welfare and development, and 
have carried out without the slightest faltering the policy that has 
always been laid down by the American officials who had charge 
before them of the non-Christian people. 

Now as to the remaining point, the extent to which the Filipinos 
now participate in their own government there, in a general way I 
may say that there are nearly a thousand municipalities in the island 
which are entirely governed by Filipino elected officials. There are 
45 Provinces, 43 of which are governed by Filipino officials. The 
other two have American governors of Provinces in the Moham¬ 
medan countries where the process of amalgamation of the Moham¬ 
medan and Christian Filipinos has not yet been perhaps entirely 
complete. Both houses of the legislature, in which there are 92 mem¬ 
bers of the house and 25 members of the senate, are entirely Filipino. 

Of the six members of the cabinet, five are Filipino, the other 
being the vice governor, who is the secretary of public instruction 
and appointed by the President. 

My own relations with the Filipino people and their representa¬ 
tives in the legislature have been so fortunate that I have been able 
to consult them at all times on every matter of public importance 
which came within my jurisdiction. 

It is true that Congress, in passing the act of August 29, 1916, gave 
to the Governor General ampler powers than he had ever had before. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


109 


He has now supervision and control of every administrative function 
of Government under him—and it depends largely upon the policy 
of the administration in Washington, and upon the interpretation 
of that policy by our representatives in the Philippines, what extent 
of participation in that government shall be shared by the Filipinos. 
It has been my idea that we were out there to see that the govern¬ 
ment was gradually turned over to the Filipino people so that they 
could work out what is to-day known as their own self-determination. 
I have always felt that I was carrying out the ideas of the whole 
American people, irrespective of party, in trying to put that princi¬ 
ple into application, and I have just invited your attention to-day 
to the results. 

Mr. Garrett. Tell us about the courts, Governor. 

Mr. Harrison. The courts of first instance, consisting of about 
30 judges, are all Filipinos, with, I think, three exceptions. The 
supreme court consists of nine members, of w 7 hom five are Americans 
and four are Filipinos. 

All the justices of the peace, excepting in Army posts, are Fili¬ 
pinos. 

Now, in submitting this question to the joint committee of Con¬ 
gress, I believe that I served in Congress long enough to appreciate 
the fact that the members will approach the subject with a very 
great feeling of responsibility and without the slightest trace of 
partisanship, and I am confident that when the time comes to act 
every American will have in mind what his own forefathers went 
through in order to secure liberty for his own country, and what 
heroic efforts our own generation has just seen put forth by the 
United States for the bringing of liberty to small nations throughout 
the world. 

Now, if I may be at the disposition of the committee, I will try to 
answer any questions that you may have. 

The Chairman. Do any members of the committee desire to ask 
any questions? .1 

Mr. Hulings. General, what do you think of the chances of trouble 
with the Japanese in case we enact independence legislation? 

Mr. Harrison. Well, the Japanese question does not loom as large 
to us in the Philippines as it does in the minds of many men with 
whom I have come in contact since my vacation in the States. There 
are really very few Japanese there. They have gone into the hemp 
district of Davao, and are helping to develop that agriculturally, 
but they do not take kindly to life in the tropics, and I do not sup¬ 
pose that they will ever attempt to colonize a tropical country. They 
suffer from labor in the fields in the tropics, much as the men from 
the north of Europe or our own country would. 

The Chairman. Are there any other questions, gentlemen? 

Mr. Hersey. How long have you been Governor General of the 
Philippines ? 

Mr. Harrison. I was appointed in August, 1913. 

Mr. Hersey. And during all that time were you in favor of the 
independence of the Philippines? 

Mr. Harrison. When I went out there I was in favor of it as a 
matter of principle, but in addition to that, by reason of my asso¬ 
ciation with the people of the Philippines, I have come to regard it 


110 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


as an entirely practical question, and to be willing to recommend 
that they are fit for independence. 

Mr. Hersey. How long have you been in favor of their inde¬ 
pendence ? How far back ? 

Mr. Harrison. Well, I first began to take an active interest in 
public life in about 1902. 

Mr. Hersey. And you were for independence at that time ? 

Mr. Harrison. Yes, that has always been my view. 

Mr. Fairfield. After your experience, Governor, in the Philip¬ 
pines, do you now think that in 1902 the Filipinos were fully com¬ 
petent for self government? 

Mr. Harrison. Well, of course, I never went to the Islands until 
1913, but as a matter of principle independence was always my view; 
but as a practical question, I doubt whether they would then have 
satisfied the tests to be submitted by Congress as well as they do 
to-day. 

The Chairman. Is there anything further, gentlemen? Governor, 
of course, we are very grateful to you for- 

Mr. PIarrison. I thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

The Chairman. Have you anything further ? 

Mr. Quezon. Simply to thank the committee for their courtesy 
and to express the hope that some action may be taken on this 
question. 

The Chairman. In closing these hearings, gentlemen, I desire 
only to say this: I think there is no member of the joint committee— 
and I believe there is no member of Congress—who is not very glad 
indeed, that your commission has visited the United States. We are 
glad not only that you have come to Congress and to Washington, 
but we are glad that you have gone to other places in the United 
States, so that you may understand the character of our citizenship, 
perhaps better than you did before, and the general conditions that 
exist here, which after all, we, as Americans, still indulge the belief 
are worthy of some credit and entitled to consideration. You have 
found here things, I am quite sure, that did not meet with your ap¬ 
proval, and we could find things over in your island that might be 
subject to criticism, but I trust, gentlemen, that we are both of us 
moving along on the road of progress, of development, and evolution 
to a better condition and to better things. What will be the attitude 
of Congress with regard to this particular question that you are sub¬ 
mitting I do not know; but I think that I can say to you that it will 
receive from them sympathetic consideration. There has been, as so 
many of your spokesmen have said—there has been in the past no 
political division regarding the duty of the American people toward 
the people of the Philippine Islands. 

From the very inception of our relations with them, President 
McKinley’s statement that your progress, your development, your 
well-being, your happiness, would be the sole thought and desire in 
the minds of the American people, I think has never changed. As it 
was then, so it is now. If Philippine independence should be 
granted it will be because we believe that it is the best thing for the 
islands; if it should be deferred, it is because we believe that it is 
best that it should be so. I can very easily understand how now, 
when the idea of self-determination has been in the minds of the 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Ill 


people of all of the small nations of the world, and in the minds of 
those nations which are, for the first time demanding recognition as 
such, I can very well understand how you should at this time again 
give prominence to the idea of nationality, and desire that immediate 
action should be taken with regard to your own independence, but I 
presume I may be justified in suggesting that while that is true, the 
whole world is in a condition of flux and change such as never ex¬ 
isted before in all its history. We are in a condition in which prac¬ 
tically everything regarding international relationship is unsettled. 
No one can tell what the morrow will bring forth. We may have a 
league of nations, and we may not have it. We may have peace, 
and we may not have it. We may be able to establish these new 
nations, and we may not be able to establish them. It may be more 
difficult than ever to maintain peace in the world. Of course, we all 
desire to do everything that we possibly can to secure the permanent 
peace of the world, and with that, of course, as a necessary incident, 
comes the peace and the independence of all the nations of the world. 

Now if under conditions as they exist it will be best and safest that 
you should be independent, certainly no American can have any ob¬ 
jections to offer; but if the people of the United States shall not be 
able to see their way clear now to believe that it will be to your best 
interests or for your safety that independence shall be considered 
now as a practical question, I hope that no member of the commis¬ 
sion—and I hope that no citizen of the islands—will believe that has 
resulted from any feeling of stubbornness or resistance to what you 
ask for, but is only a consideration of the great question as to whether 
or not is is best for the people of the islands. That, gentlemen, will 
be for us the pole star of our action with regard to your relation to 
us and to the world—and so far as I might take the liberty of ex¬ 
pressing it, I believe that is the desire of the Members of Congress 
and of the American people. 

Again, gentlemen, thanking you for your coming and for this ex¬ 
ceedingly able presentation of the conditions in the islands and of 
your desire for independence, we will now close these hearings. 

Mr. Quezon. Mr. Chairman, just one word—for the last three 
years the Philippine Legislature has been hoping to see the com¬ 
mittees of Congress, the House Committee and the Senate Committee, 
visit the Philippines. We just want to say that we are still expect¬ 
ing the committees to visit the islands and so satisfy the members 
as to the conditions there. 

The Chairman. I am quite sure that the Filipinos and the mem¬ 
bers of the commission can not be nearly so anxious to have us 
there as we are anxious to go. 

(Whereupon at 4 o’clock p. m. the committee adjourned.) 


112 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Appendix. 

Commission of Independence, 
Phillipine Mission to the United States, 

Washington, D. C. 

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: 

The undersigned members of the Philippine mission, pursuant to the in¬ 
structions received from the Philippine Legislature and in accordance with the 
wishes of the Filipino people, beg to submit hereby to the Congress of the 
United States of America a formal petition that the independence of the Philip¬ 
pine Islands be granted at this time. 

It is confidently hoped and believed that the Congress will not suffer this op¬ 
portunity to pass by when the whole world is so anxious to see international 
relations established upon newer and more solid foundations of universal jus¬ 
tice and liberty. 

America has constituted herself, and has justly been recognized, as the 
champion of the rights of humanity in the last world war, and due in a great 
measure to her heroic efforts and generous aid, mankind has been saved from 
the thraldom of greed and oppression, and the rights of small and weaker na¬ 
tions to exist side by side with the great powers vindicated. 

The recognition of the independence of the Philippines at this time will con¬ 
stitute an object lesson to the whole world in respect of the lofty and altruistic 
aims which have prompted America to take part in the great war, for it will 
furnish a practical application of her doctrine of self-determination. 

For the first time in the history of colonial relations a subject and alien 
race comes to ask the severance of their political connection with the sovereign 
nation without recounting any act of injustice, but rather with a feeling of 
gratitude and affection. Our plea for independence is based not on the in¬ 
justice which might be found in the forcible subjection of the Filipinos, but 
on the justice of our claim that the national sovereignty of our people be fully 
recognized, in order that we may freely fulfill our own mission and con¬ 
tribute to the spread and establishment of democracy and Christian institutions 
in the Far East. 

With this end in view, we respectfully submit the following propositions: 

1. That as defined and established in the act of Congress of August 29, 1916, 
the purpose of the Government of the United States is to withdraw its sover¬ 
eignty over the Philippine Islands as soon as a stable government can be 
established therein. 

2. That in accordance with the terms and provisions of said law, the people 
of the Pliillipines have organized a government that has been in operation for 
nearly three years and which has offered complete evidence that conditions 
are ripe for the establishment of an independent government that will be 
fully capable of maintaining law and order, administer justice, promote the 
welfare of all the inhabitants of the islands, and discharge as well its inter¬ 
national obligations. 

3. That the Filipino people desire their independence at this time, and 
along with that independence, they confidently hope to preserve the bonds of 
good understanding and friendship which bind them to the United States, and 
to foster the free development of commercial relations between the two 
countries. 

I. 

The act of Congress of August 29, 1916, entitled, “An act to declare the 
purpose of the people of the United States as to the future political status of 
the people of the Philippine Islands, and to provide a more autonomous govern¬ 
ment for those islands,” says in its preamble: 

“ Whereas it was never the intention of the people of the United States in 
the incipiency of the War with Spain to make it a war of conquest or for 
territorial aggrandizement; and 

“ Whereas it is, as it has always been, the purpose of the people of the United 
States to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to 
recognize their independence as soon as a stable government can be established 
therein; and 

“ Whereas for the speedy accomplishment of such purpose it is desirable 
to place in the hands of the people of the Philippines as large a control of 
their domestic affairs as can be given them without, in the meantime, impair¬ 
ing the exercise of the rights of sovereignty by the people of the United States, 
in order that, by the use and exercise of popular franchise and governmental 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


113 


powers, they may be the better prepared to fully assume the respousibilities 
and enjoy all the privileges of complete independence, etc.” 

The statements contained in the above preamble have haxl the effect of ratify¬ 
ing and gi\ing concrete form to the declarations which, ever since the advent 
American sovereignty in the Philippines up to the enactment of said law, 
the Presidents of the United States and their representatives have been 
making concerning America’s aim and policy in the islands. 

President McKinley, at the beginning of the Spanish American War, said: 

Forcible annexation can not be thought of; according to the American 
code of morals, is criminal aggression.” 

President McKinley’s instructions to the first Philippine Commission, on 
the 20th of January, 1899, he expressed the hope that these commissioners 
Mould be received as bearers of “the richest blessings of a liberating rather 
than a conquering nation.” 

In his message to Congress in the same year, among other things concerning 
the Philippines, he said: 

“ We shal l continue, as we have begun, to open the schools and the churches, 
to set the courts in operation, to foster industry and trade and agriculture, 
and in every way in our power, to make these people whom Providence has 
brought within our jurisdiction feel that it is their liberty and not our power, 
their welfare and not our gain we are seeking to enhance.” 

And again he said: 

“The Philippines are ours, not to exploit, but to develop, to civilize, to 
educate, to train in the science of self-government. This is the path of duty 
which we must follow or be recreant to a mighty trust committed to us.” 

Upon another occasion he said: 

“ We accepted the Philippines from high duty in the interest of their in¬ 
habitants and for humanity and civilization. Our sacrifices were with this 
high motive. We want to improve the condition of the inhabitants, securing 
them peace, liberty, and the pursuit of their highest good.” 

In his message to Congress in the following year he said: 

“ The fortune of war has thrown upon this nation an unsought trust which 
should be unselfishly discharged, and developed upon this Government a 
moral as well as material responsibility toward these millions whom we have 
freed from an oppressive yoke. 

“ I have on another occasion called the Filipinos ‘ the wards of the nation.’ 
Our obligation as guardian was not lightly assumed; it must not be otherwise 
than honestly fulfilled, aiming first of all to benefit those who have come under 
our fostering care. It is our duty so to treat them that our flag may be no 
less beloved in the mountains of Luzon and the fertile zones of Mindanao and 
Negros than it is at home, that there as here, it shall be the revered symbol of 
liberty, enlightenment, and progress in every avenue of development. 

“ The Filipinos are a race quick to learn and to profit by knowledge.” 

In his instructions to the Second Philippine Commission, he made the follow¬ 
ing observations: 

“ In all the forms of government and administrative provisions which they 
are authorized to prescribe, the commission should bear in mind that the govern¬ 
ment which they are establishing is designed not for our satisfaction, or for 
the expression of our theoretical views, but for the happiness, peace, and 
prosperity of the people of the Philippine Islands.” 

President Taft, while Civil Governor of the Philippine Islands, on the 17th 
of December, 1903, said: 

“ From the beginning to the end of the State papers which were circulated 
in these Islands as authoritative expressions of the Executive, the motto that 
4 the Philippines are for the Filipinos ’ and that the Government of the United 
States is here for the purpose of preserving the 4 Philippines for the Filipinos ’ 
for their benefit, for their elevation, for their civilization, again and again and 
again appear.” 

And upon the same occasion, and in response to a particularly vicious news¬ 
paper attack which was then being made upon him by the American papers 
published in the islands, he said: 

“ Some of our young lions of the local press have spoken of the 4 childish 
slogan ’: 4 The Philippines for the Filipinos.’ It is unnecessary to comment on 
the adjective used, but it is sufficient to say that, whether childish or not, 
the principle makes up the web and the woof of the policy of the United States 
with respect to these islands, as it has been authoritatively declared by two 


122031—19-8 



114 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Presidents of the United States—for President Roosevelt has followed sedu¬ 
lously the policy of President McKinley—and by the interpretation of the su¬ 
preme popular will, the Congress of the United States.” 

He points out that the actions of the President, as well as his instructions, 
have been expressly approved and ratified by an act of Congress. 

President Roosevelt, in his message to Congress of December 6, 1904, said: 

“We are endeavoring to develop the natives themselves so that they shall 
take an ever-increasing share in their own government, and as far as is pru¬ 
dent we are already admitting their representatives to a governmental equality 
with own own. * * * If they show that they are capable of electing a 

legislature which in its turn is capable of taking a sane and efficient part in 
the actual work of government, they can rest assured that a full and increas¬ 
ing measure of recognition will be given them.” 

And in 1906 he said: 

“ We are constantly increasing the measure of liberty accorded the islanders, 
and next spring, if conditions warrant, we shall take a great stride forward in 
testing their capacity for self-government by summoning the first Filipino 
legislative assembly; and the way in which they stand this test will largely 
determine wdiether the self-government thus granted will be increased or de¬ 
creased ; for if we have erred at all in the Philippines it has been in proceeding 
too rapidly in the direction of granting a large measure of self-government.” 

When Mr. Taft was Secretary of War, in the course of a special report upon 
the Philippines, he said: 

“ When they have learned the principles of successful popular self-govern¬ 
ment from a gradually enlarged experience therein, we can discuss the ques¬ 
tion whether independence is what they desire and grant it, or whether they 
prefer the retention of a closer association wtih the country which, by its guid¬ 
ance, has unselfishly led them on to better conditions.” 

In a special report made by Secretary Taft on the Philippines and their 
political future, with special reference to the policy which had been pursued 
there, he said: 

“The conditions in the islands to-day vindicate and justify that policy. It 
necessarily involves in its ultimate conclusion as the steps toward self-govern¬ 
ment become greater and greater the ultimate independence of the islands; 
although of course if both the United States and the islands were to continue 
a governmental relation between them like that between England and Aus¬ 
tralia, there would be nothing inconsistent with the present policy in such a 
result.” 

Further on he says: 

“ Thus far the policy of the Philippines has worked. It has been attacked 
on the ground that we have gone too fast, that we have given the natives too 
much power. The meeting of the assembly and the conservative tone of that 
body thus far disclosed, makes for our view rather than that of our opponents.” 

In 1908, after the inauguration of the Philippine Assembly, President Roose¬ 
velt in his message to Congress said: 

“ Real progress toward self-goverhment is being made in the Philippine 
Islands.” 

And in referring to the Philippine Assembly, he said: 

“ Hitherto this Philippine Legislature has acted with moderation and self- 
restraint, and has seemed in practical fashion to realize the eternal truth that 
there must always be government, and that the only way in which any body 
of individuals can escape the necessity of being governed by outsiders is to 
show that they are able to restrain themselves, to keep down wrongdoing and 
disorder. The Filipino people, through their officials, are therefore making 
real steps in the direction of self-government. I hope and believe that these 
steps mark the beginning of a course which will continue till the Filipinos be¬ 
come fit to decide for themselves whether they desire to be an independent 
nation.” 

In a special message to Congress on January 27, 1908, transmitting a special 
report made by Secretary Taft on the Philippines, he said: 

“ But no great civilized power has ever managed with such wisdom and dis¬ 
interestedness the affairs of a people committed by the accident of war to its 
hands. Save only our attitude toward Cuba, I question whether there is a 
brighter page in the annals of international dealings between the strong and 
the weak than the page which tells of our doings in the Philippines.” 

Further on he says: 

“ The islanders have made real advances in a hopeful direction, and they have 
opened well with the new Philippine Assembly; they have yet a long way to 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


115 


travel before thev will ho fit fnr --* 



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tor the happiness, peace, and prosperity of tlie Filipino people, the evolution of 
a government by Americans assisted by Filipinos into a government of Fili¬ 
pinos assisted by Americans, and the education and preparation of the people 
tor popular self-government was the broad policy of President McKinley, of 
President Roosevelt, of Gov. Taft, of Gov. Gen. Wright, of Gov. Gen. Ide, and 
of all their successors. It is the policy to-day and its continuance will, I be¬ 
lieve, bring the Filipino race happy and contented to the realization of its hopes 
and ideal rarely attained, rarely enjoyed, save through blood and tears.” 

After Secretary Taft was elected President, in a message to Congress deliv¬ 
ered on December 6, 1912, he said: 

“ We should * * * endeavor to secure for the Filipinos economic independ¬ 
ence and to lit them for complete self-government, with the power to decide 
eventually, according to their own largest good, whether such self-government 
shall be accompanied by independence.” 

Secretary Stimpson, in his annual report of 1912, said: 

“ The policy of the United States was definitely and materially declared in 
the instructions of President McKinley to the Philippine Commission of April 
7, 1900, and it has never been departed from since. It is contained in every step 
of the consistent progress of our insular government. President McKinley’s 
statement was expressly and affirmatively confirmed by the Congress of the 
United States in the organic act for the Philippine Government of July 1, 1902. 
Briefly, this policy may be expressed as having for its sole object the prepara¬ 
tion of the Philippine people for popular self-government in their own interest 
and in the interest of the United States * * * 

“ The postponement of the question of independence for the islands has been 
deliberately made, not for promoting our interests, but solely in order to en¬ 
able that momentous question to be determined intelligently by the Philippine 
people in the light of their own highest interest.” 

On the 1st of March, 1913, President Taft adverted to the Democratic plat¬ 
form with reference to the Philippines and quoted that portion of it which 
referred to the purpose of the United States to “ recognize the independence of 
the Philippine Islands as soon as a stable government can be established,” and 
said that this was “ an affirmation of policy only slightly differing from that 
repeatedly announced by this and preceding Republican administrations.” 

Gov. Gen. W. Cameron Forbes, in his farewell speech before leaving the 
islands, made the statement “ that the platform of both parties reached the 
same general conclusion in regard to the granting of independence when a stable 
government should be established.” He subsequently, in a published speech 
in this country, corrected this statement to the extent of substituting the word 
“ policies ” for the word “ platforms.” 

Upon the present administration coming into authority here, the President 
authorized Gov. Gen. Harrison, in his opening address, to make the following 
statement: 

“ We regard ourselves as trustees, acting, not for the advantage of the 
United States, but for the benefit of the people of the Philippine Islands. 
Every step we take will be taken with a view to the ultimate independence of 
the islands and as a preparation for their independence; and we hope to move 
toward that end as rapidly as the safety and the permanent interests of the 
islands will permit. After each step taken experience will guide us to the 
next. The administration will take one step at once. It will give to the native 
citizens of the islands a majority of the appointive commission and thus in the 
upper as well as in the lower house of the legislature. It will do this in the 
confident hope and expectation that immediate proof will thereby be given in 
the action of the commission under the new arrangement of the political ca¬ 
pacity of those native citizens who have already come forward to represent 
and lead their people in affairs.” 

President Wilson in his message to Congress, delivered on December 2, 
1913, said: 

“ * * * Porto Rico, Hawaii, the Philippines, are ours, indeed, but not 

ours to do what we please with. Such territories, once regarded as mere 


116 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


possessions, are no longer to be selfishly exploited; they are part of the domain 
of public conscience and of servicable and enlightened statesmanship. We 
must administer them for the people who live in them and with the same 
sense of responsibility to them as toward our own people in our domestic 
affairs. No doubt we shall successfully enough bind Porto Rico and the 
Hawaiian Islands to ourselves by ties of justice and interest and affection, 
but the performance of our duty toward the Philippines is a more difficult 
and debatable matter. We can satisfy the obligations of generous justice to¬ 
ward the people of Porto Rico by giving them the ample and familiar rights 
and privileges accorded our own citizens in our own territories and our obliga¬ 
tions toward the people of Hawaii by perfecting the provisions for self-govern¬ 
ment already granted them, but in the Philippines we must go further. We 
must hold steadily in view their ultimate independence, and we must move 
toward the time of that independence as steadily as the way can be cleared 
and the foundations thoughtfully and permanently laid. 

“Acting under the authority conferred upon the President by Congress, I 
have already accorded the people of the islands a majority in both houses of 
their legislative body by appointing five instead of four native citizens to the 
membership of the commission. I believe that in this vany we shall make proof 
of their capacity in counsel and their sense of responsibility in the exercise 
of political power, and that the success of this step will be sure to clear our 
view for the steps which are to follow. Step by step we should extend and 
perfect the system of self-government in the islands, making test of them and 
modifying them as experience discloses their successes and their failures; so 
that we should more and more put under the control of the native citizen of 
the archipelago the essential instruments of their life, their local instrumentali¬ 
ties of government, their schools, all the common interests of their communi¬ 
ties, and so by counsel and experience set up a government which all the 
world will see to be suitable to a people whose affairs are under their control. 
At last, I hope and believe, we are beginning to gain the confidence of the 
Filipino people. By their counsel and experience, rather than by our own, we 
shall learn how best to serve them and how soon it will be possible and wise to 
withdraw our supervision. Let us once find the path and set out with firm 
and confident tread upon it and we shall not wander from it nor linger upon it.” 

In another message to Congress, delivered on December 8, 1914, he said: 

“ There is another great piece of legislation which awaits and should receive 
the sanction of the Senate. I mean the bill which gives a larger measure of 
self-government to the people of the Philippines. How better, in this time of 
anxious questioning and perplexed policy, could we show our confidence in the 
principles of liberty, as the source as well as the expression of life, how 
better could we demonstrate our own self-possession and steadfastness in the 
courses of justice and disinterestedness than by thus going calmly forward to 
fulfill our promises to a dependent people, who will now look more anxiously 
than ever to see whether we have, indeed, the liberality, the unselfishness, the 
courage, the faith we have boasted and professed. I can not believe that the 
Senate will let this great measure of constructive justice await the action of 
another Congress. Its passage would nobly crown the record of these two 
years of memorable labor.” 

And in his message to Congress, delivered on December 7, 1915, he said: 

“ There is another matter which seems to me to be very intimately associated 
with the question of national safety and preparation for defense. That is our 
policy toward the Philippines and the people of Porto Rico. Our treatment 
of them and their attitude toward us are manifestly of the first consequence 
in the development of our duties in the world and in getting a free hand to 
perform those duties. We must be free from every unnecessary burden or 
embarrassment; and there is no better way to be clear of embarrassment than 
to fulfill our promises and promote the interests of those dependent on us to 
the utmost. Bills for the alteration and reform of the government of the 
Philippines and for rendering fuller political justice of the people of Porto 
Rico were submitted to the Sixty-third Congress. They will be submitted also 
to you. I need not particularize their details. You are most of you already 
familiar with them. But I do recommend them to your early adoption with 
the sincere conviction that there are few measures you could adopt which 
would more serviceably clear the war for the great policies by which we wish 
to make good, now and always, our right to lead in enterprises of peace and 
good will and economic and political freedom.” 

In January (1915) number of Everybody’s Magazine ex-President Roosevelt 
indorsed this contention, and said: 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


117 


“ If we act so that the natives understand us to have made a definite promise, 
then we should live up to that promise. The Philippines, from a military 
standpoint, are a source of weakness to us. The present administration has 
promised explicitly to let them go and by its action has rendered it difficult 
to hold them against any serious foreign foe. These being the circumstances, 
the islands should at an early moment be given their independence, without 
any guarantee whatever by us and without our retaining any foothold in them.” 

As stated at the outset, all of the pceceding statements were finally adopted 
or ratified by the Congress by the passage, on August 29, 1916, of the law 
generally known as the Jones law. 

In view of the documents above quoted, of the official statements made by 
the constitutional representatives of the American people, and of the steps 
taken in accordance with those statements, the policy of the United States in 
the Philippines appears to be clearly defined, namely, that it has never been, 
nor is it, the purpose of the United States to retain possession of the Philip¬ 
pine Islands for exploitation and self-aggrandizement, but rather fof the wel¬ 
fare, education, and liberty of their inhabitants; that the government therein 
established is designed, not for the satisfaction, or for the expression of the 
theoretical views of the American people, but the training of the Filipinos in 
the science of self-government by means of gradual participation in the admin¬ 
istration of their own affairs; that when the Filipinos shall have learned the 
Philippines of popular self-government, then it is for them to decide whether 
they should be independent or remain under the sovereignty of the United 
States; and, finally, that it is the purpose of the Government of the United 
States to grant the Filipinos their complete independence as soon as a stable 
government can be established in the islands. 

As has been idicated, President McKinley originally outlined this policy, 
which Mr. Taft so happily summed up in his immortal phrase “ the Philippines 
for the Filipinos.” Such a policy has been faithfully observed by his successors 
in office and carried on by the present administration to such an extent that the 
Filipinos have been afforded an opportunity to show that they are in fact able 
to exercise the duties and powers of a popular, complete self-government. 

In view of the foregoing considerations, there remains nothing to be deter¬ 
mined, in accordance with the avowed policy of the United States above 
adverted to, but the following points: 

1. Whether the Filipinos have met the requirements prescribed in the act 
of Congress of August 29, 1916; that is to say, whether they have shown that 
they are sufficiently prepared to establish an independent, stable government. 

2. Whether the Filipinos prefer independence to any other political status or 
condition. 

II. 


This chapter is devoted to an account of the work done by the Filipinos ever 
since they have been allowed to take an active part in the affairs of their 
Government, and particularly after the establishment of the autonomous gov¬ 
ernment authorized by the Jones law, with a view of showing that conditions in 
the islands are ripe for the establishment of a stable, independent government. 

For a better understanding of the subject, it will be necessary to divide this 
chapter into various sections, and to limit ourselves to the treatment of those 
fundamental elements which constitute the foundation of a popular self- 
government and insure its stability and development. 

REORGANIZATION OF THE INSULAR GOVERNMENT. 

The enactment of the Jones law, in so far as it gave the Filipinos greater 
autonomy in the administration of their public affairs, has put to a test the 
degree of political training acquired by the Filipinos under American methods 
as well as their ability in the organization of an efScient national government. 
From a study of the manner in which the Filipinos effected the reorganization 
of the Insular Government previously existing, the principles followed by 
them, the difficulties which they had to overcome, and the results aimed at and 
attained by such reorganization, we may form an adequate judgment as to 
whether they possess or not the required capacity for independence. 

This is not the first time in which the Filipinos have attempted the estab¬ 
lishment of a national government. They had experience along that line when 
the revolutionary congress at Malolos drafted a constitution for the short-lived 
Filipino Republic under the leadership of Aguinaldo, and proceeded to estab¬ 
lish a government in accordance with the terms of that constitution. We 


118 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


find, however, this difference: whereas at that time they had complete freedom 
of action and could adopt a model which seemed to them most satisfactory, now 
in the reorganization of the Insular Government their action was circum¬ 
scribed by the fundamental rules prescribed by the Jones law. This law is in 
fact a constitution granted by an alien people for the government of another 
of different race and with different civilization, inhabiting a territory ten 
thousand miles away. Notwithstanding the difficulties which thus obtained 
and the restrictions to which they were subjected, the Filipinos faced the task 
with courage, and reorganized the central government in such a way that there 
resulted, not in a mere copy of the presidential form of government of the 
United States, but a system more in harmony with the tendencies and reforms 
advocated by eminent American authorities on constitutional systems. 

Under the system adopted by the Filipinos the members of the cabinet are 
responsible for their official conduct not only to the Governor General but also 
to the Philippine Legislature. The reorganization act provides that the secre¬ 
taries of ‘departments may be called upon by any of the two houses of the 
legislature concerning any matter affecting their respective departments, and 
they are legally bound to appear before such houses for the purpose of giving 
such information as may be required of them, whenever the nature of the 
matter permits it and the Governor General consents thereto. They are also 
entitled to be heard by either of the two houses of the legislature for the pur¬ 
pose of reporting on matters pertaining to their departments. In this manner 
it was made possible not only to impose upon the members of the executive 
department a certain degree of responsibility to the popular branch of the 
government and, indirectly, to the people; but also a greater harmony was 
thereby established between those two branches of the government. In this 
manner also the Governor General, who is an American and is the person 
authorized by law to appoint the members of the cabinet and other higher 
officers of the government, finds it necessary to consult the representatives of 
the people with regard to the appointments made by him. The consent of the 
senate, therefore, is a real check to any arbitrary act of the executive. 

In order to insure better harmony between the executive and the legislative 
departments of the government there has also been created a body known as the 
council of state, the duties of which are to aid and advise the Governor General 
on public matters. This body is composed of the Governor General, the presi¬ 
dents of both houses of the legislature, the members of the cabinet, and such 
other members as the Governor General may appoint. The constitution of the 
council of state promises to solve the problem of responsible leadership in our 
government. It may not only avoid violent conflicts which might occur between 
the executive and legislative branches of the government but it also enables 
the people to fix the responsibility for the conduct and administration of public 
affairs. The council of state has also the advantage of permitting the Gov¬ 
ernor General to look to it for counsel concerning local and international 
matters of vital importance to the country. There can be no question as to the 
usefulness of the council of state; and the rOle which it plays in matters con¬ 
cerning the government gives to the latter that unity of action which is at once 
harmonious, effective, and responsible—an element so necessary and essential 
to the regular and orderly course of public affairs. 

Among the reforms made by the legislature after the passage of the Jones 
law was the adoption of a budget system in the financial operations of the 
government. The adoption of this system has cured the deficiencies arising 
out of a lack of a systematic plan in the expenditure of public funds. Under 
the former system, which was quite analogous to the one still obtaining in the 
United States, there was no fixed responsibility for the preparation and sub¬ 
mission of appropriation bills. Each bureau of the government prepared its 
estimates and sent the same to the legislature through the executive secre¬ 
tary. The executive secretary had neither the power of revisison nor of 
coordination; but his task was confined to the compilation of all of the esti¬ 
mates and to the transmission of the same in their original form to the legis¬ 
lature. Under such a system, each bureau, without taking into account the 
needs of the other bureaus, merely tried to ask for and obtain the most it 
could possibly obtain, and its success or lack of success in this respect de¬ 
pended on whether or not it had the sympathy of, or could exercise a greater 
or less influence on, the members of the legislature. The result of this system 
was a costly bureauracy and an unnecessary duplication in the work and 
activities of the Government. All of these deficiencies were cured by the in¬ 
troduction of the budget system, and its results have more than justified its 
adoption. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


119 


The secretary of finance is charged with the duty of preparing the budget 
after the estimates have been approved by the different secretaries of depart¬ 
ment. The budget is then submitted to the cabinet for discussion and adoption, 
and once approved, it is ordered printed and then submitted to the legislature 
for its action. Under this system it is not only possible to know and carry 
out a systematic plan in the expenditure of public funds; but effective and 
united action on the part of the cabinet is also insured. The expenses of 
the different departments are coordinated and simplified, and a proper dis¬ 
tribution of appropriations among them is effected. Through this system the 
public enjoys the unusual advantage of knowing in whole and in detail the 
different purposes to which the money which it pays in taxes and imposts is 
devoted. In practice the system has resulted in materially reducing the 
number of appropriation bills for each year, which, in 1916, when the former 
system was in vogue, amounted to 37 laws. 

It is generally admitted that the adoption of the budget system marks a 
decided improvement over the old system, and is considered as one of the 
greastest achievements of the Filipino people. It has placed the Philippines, 
to use the words of Gov. Gen. Harrison, “ among the foremost progressive 
nations in fiscal legislation.” 

The speaker of the house of representatives, Hon. Sergio Osmena, has 
clearly explained the scope and object of the reorganization of the Insular 
Government in the following terms: 

“ This legislature, the first organized under the auspices of the new law 
and inaugurated on October 16, 1916, is imbued jointly with the new impulses 
of liberty and democracy, with the highest sense of order and responsibility. 
Thus it has respected established institutions and retained government prac¬ 
tice in so far as compatible with the changes necessary. It has equally 
shunned the influence of unsafe reforms adopted in a foolhardy manner and 
the puerile timidity that hinders all constructive work, and the country has 
assumed the plenitude of the powers recognized by law. The examination of 
the structure of the government authorized by the Jones act has been calm 
and minute. It has been compared with that of the governments of other 
countries. Entering without hesitancy upon the vast field of theory and prac¬ 
tice of the best governments of the world, the Filipino nation has had an oppor¬ 
tunity to make new use of its old maturity of judgment, of its acknowledged 
self-control, adjusting the flights of its mind anxious of innovations to the 
constitutional limitations and the real needs of our own life and conditions. 

“ One of the points brought up concerned the relations of the executive 
the legislature. The scope of these relations under the presidential regime 
and of those generally found under the parliamentary system has been in¬ 
vestigated. Neither of these two systems has been adopted definitely; but 
through recognizing that the organic law retains certain notable features of 
the presidential regime, the Filipinos have not given up the idea of improving 
and perfecting the system implanted by the law referred to. Within the bounds 
of the existing constitutional limitations, certain touches have been given 
to our political institutions which give them a character all their own. 

“ In the first place, the executive departments have been reorganized. In 
lieu of the system of indefinite tenure of the departmental officers formerly In 
vogue, the theory of periodical changes has been adopted. Every three years 
the atmosphere of the executive department is to be renewed, at the same time 
when the personnel of the legislature changes in accordance with the results of 
th last general election. And once the democratic influence of the government 
is thus assured, the legislature throws its doors open to the department secre¬ 
taries who, instead of privately going to the office of the various committees, 
may, if they so prefer, demand the right to be heard publicly in the session hall 
of either house. 

This first step has not been taken without a conscientious consideration of 
the basic principles of the American Government system upon which the United 
States Congress has modeled ours. Ostensibly the Philippine Legislature, whicn 
has approved the departmental reorganization law, has started out with the 
purpose of coordinating and harmonizing the powers of state, instead of 
separating and scattering them.” 

In speaking of the budget system he further says: 

“ It inaugurates a regime of publicity and places each power of the state 
within its own sphere of responsibility. It puts the finances of the govern¬ 
ment on an approved commercial basis and joins the direct examination of 
the necessities of the country with the authority and duty to disburse the public 
funds in an economic and efficient manner. It makes the department heads 


120 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


more responsible to the legislature and the people. It frustrates any attempt 
to establish a vicious kind of legislation not demanded by public interest, 
known elsewhere as log-rolling and pork barrel. It maintains the legislature 
in a sphere of dignity and control, while it stays the hand of arbitrary chief 
executive ready to make improper use of the veto power. But, what is more 
important than all this, it preserves fresh and pure the constitutional in¬ 
telligence between the several powers of the state and between the Government 
and the people; it prevents the useless expenditure of energy by disagreement 
and friction, preserves stability, and prepares the organs of the government to 
be constantly ready for orderly, prompt, and efficient action.” 

THE PROGRESS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 

The municipal and provincial governments, constituting as they do, political 
units of the Philippine Government, furnish positive proofs of the political 
capacity of the Filipino people, inasmuch as these governments, the success 
of which is manifest, are controlled by Filipinos. From the beginning it was 
deemed advisable to place the management of municipal affairs in the hands 
of officials chosen by the people of the municipalities concerned. The growing 
notable success of local governments has made imperative the adoption of all 
measures which safeguard and increase the autonomy exercised by such gov¬ 
ernments. Provincial officers which were originally appointive were made elec¬ 
tive. The provincial board, which constitutes the legislative body of the 
province, was formerly composed of an elective provincial governor, an ap¬ 
pointive provincial treasurer, and an elective third member. By virtue of Act 
No. 2501 of the Philippine Legislature, approved February 5, 1915, the provin¬ 
cial treasurer ceased to be a member of the provincial board, and the Governor 
General was authorized to appoint a new member from among the municipal 
presidents in the province. 

Inasmuch as municipal presidents are elected by popular vote, it is clear 
that the object of this law was to grant greater autonomy to provinical gov¬ 
ernments by eliminating from the provincial board the only nonelective member. 
Act No. 2586 of the Philippine Legislature, approved in February, 1916, went 
even further in the extension of popular control over provincial governments, 
by providing that the appointive members of the provincial board shall be 
elected by popular vote. These liberal reforms have reached, not only the 
regularly organized Provinces, but also the few so-called special Provinces. 
In 1915, the office of the third member of the Provincial boards of Mindoro, 
Palawan, and Batanes was made elective, and in 1916 the office of provincial 
governor of Mindoro was likewise made elective. This year a law was passed 
by the Philippine Legislature making elective the office of provisional governor 
of Palawan. 

Inasmuch as all of the important offices of the municipal and provincial 
governments are elective and the higher and direct supervision of the same is 
wholly intrusted to Filipino officials, the orderly and progressive march of such 
governments constitutes a practical demonstration of the capacity and efficiency 
of the government established by the Filipino people in accordance with the 
Jones law. 

At the present time, all of the provincial governors, who are the chief execu¬ 
tives of the Provinces, are Filipinos; except the governors of the Provinces of 
Cotobato, Lanao, and Sulu in the department of Mindanao and Sulu. Of the 
46 provincial treasurers, who are the chief financial officers, 38 are Filipinos, 
and only one is American. There are 30 Filipino district engineers, and 13 
are Americans. In the municipalities, with the exception of 16 American ex- 
officio justices of the peace, the local administration of justice is entirely en¬ 
trusted to the Filipinos. The supervision and control over the provinces and 
municipalities formerly exercised by the Governor General, through the execu¬ 
tive secretary has now passed to the Secretary of the Interior, who acts in that 
respect through the chief of the executive bureau. Both officers are Filipinos. 

In order to promote the free and ample exercise of local autonomy, the Sec¬ 
retary of the Interior and the executive bureau have adopted the policy of not 
interfering with the affairs of local governments, except in cases where such 
intervention is made absolutely necessary. 

Nor has progress been made along political lines alone; but provinces and 
municipalities also have improved economically. In 1913, the revenues of the 
municipalities, towns and settlements amounted to 7,152,541 pesos; in 1917 
these revenues went up to 11,401,983 pesos. In 1913 the total expenses of opera- 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 121 

tion of all municipalities, towns, and settlements aggregated 5,869,454 pesos, 
while in 1917 the amount totalled 8,696,535 pesos. 

As the result of the great progress attained by the municipalities along po¬ 
litical and economic lines, there have been constructed great public improve¬ 
ments, such as roads, provincial, and municipal buildings, school buildings, 
bridges, etc. The provinces and municipalities have also effectively con¬ 
tributed to the organization of a system of provincial and municipal sanita¬ 
tion, the construction of wharves, docks, piers, artesian wells, parks, monu¬ 
ments, etc. 

PUBLIC LAW AND ORDER. 

The first natural requisite of every well organized political society is the 
maintenance of public law and order. Ever since the establishment of the 
Philippine Assembly the general condition of order and peace throughout the 
Philippine has continually been improving to the extent that it can now be 
safely stated that the Philippines is one of those countries of the world where 
life and liberty is enjoyed with the greatest order and safety. By temperament 
the Filipino people are peaceful and abhor tumult and disorder. 

Perfect order and peace prevail throughout the archipelago, including the 
territory of Mindanao and Sulu. The maintenance of public order in terri¬ 
tories inhabitated by Moros has always been a problem of grave concern to 
many. When for the first time an attempt was made to place a person from 
civil life at the head of the government of Mindanao and Sulu, it was believed 
that public order would be endangered. No disturbance has, however, oc¬ 
curred, and the normal life of the inhabitants was not altered. Moros and 
Christians came into a more friendly union than ever before, and realized 
better than at any other time the ties which united them as countrymen. 
Thanks to this good understanding, it was possible and easy to withdraw the 
American troops in 1917 when the United States found it necessary to take 
part in the great war. American soldiers were replaced by Filipino soldiers 
of the Philippine Constabulary, the latter even less in number, without pro¬ 
ducing the least disorder. 

Col. Ole Waloe, chief of constabulary of the department of Mindanao and 
Sulu, in a memorandum submitted to the secretary of the interior under date 
of November 23, 1918, says, among other things: 

“ For the last four years, the number of grave crimes occurring in the pro¬ 
vince of Zamboanga have been less than those in the department’s most ad¬ 
vanced Christian Province for the same period. 

“ For the years 1908-1909, 37 outlaws were reported killed, captured, and 
wounded. For 1910-1911, 28. For 1912-1913, 40. For 1914, 23. For 1915, one, 
and for 1916-1917, none. This great change from a spirit of outlawry and 
piracy, coming down from the Spanish regime, to peace and industry, was 
brought about almost entirely by the sympathetic attitude and friendly interest 
of the department government toward the Moros and Pagan tribes of the Pro¬ 
vince. Force without limit had been used for three hundred years, but ap¬ 
parently with little, if any, permanent results. 

“ The Moro is no more the blood-thirsty religious fanatic of a few years 
ago, but is aiding us to a remarkable degree in maintaining law and order. In 
fact, our success in dealing with Moro outlaws has been due almost entirely 
to the loyal support and aid we have received from the great majority of the 
inhabitants of the districts affected. The Moro is industrious and a good 
farmer to the extent of his agricultural knowledge. He is beginning to see the 
advantages of education, to have respect for his Christian brother, and be more 
tolerant in his religious views. He is, however, proud of his history ahd loyal 
to his religion, but commerce and education are rapidly widening his horizon. 

“ Contrary to the prediction of the calamity howlers, the Christian Filipino 
officers of the constabulary have succeeded completely in winning the respect 
and confidence of the Moro.” 

This testimony of an American officer is an eloquent proof of the success of 
our policy with regard to the non-Christian tribes. 

As to the rest of the islands, an even more perfect peace prevails. When we 
bear in mind that the world was in a state of war and what an auspicious 
occasion such a condition offered to agitations of all kinds, the fact that peace 
and order remained undisturbed in the Islands is certainly indicative of the 
peaceful and loyal spirit of the Filipino people. 

The Filipinos did not only place all their modest energies and resources at 
the service of America, but with the spirit of a real and active community of 
ideals and interests, they resolutely assumed the international responsibilities 


122 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


of that nation in the Philippines. It may not be out of place to state here 
that the American flag during all that period of world crisis and commotion 
waived peacefully over the Philippines, not because it was supported by a mili¬ 
tary power, for that was withdrawn, but because of the loyal and vigilant 
attitude of the Filipinos. 

No longer is any band of outlaws found in any part of the archipelago. 
Neither is it easy for such a band to organize without being detected by the 
Philippine Constabulary, and immediately suppressed. The development of 
agriculture and commerce will naturally induce every citizen to devote him¬ 
self to a legitimate occupation, instead of indulging in the dangerous pursuits 
of outlawry and pillage. 

From the experience of these years and the naturally orderly and peaceful 
temperament of the Filipinos, everything points to the belief that the main¬ 
tenance of public order will be insured in the Philippines, and that a change 
of sovereignty will even more firmly impress on the minds of the Filipino the 
necessity for such an orderly existence. 

EDUCATION. 

From the beginning of American occupation of the islands, the question of 
popular education has commanded special attention. It was not, however, 
until after the establishment of the Philippine Assembly that education received 
the greatest impulse and development; for the first law approved by the assem¬ 
bly was one appropriating the sum of 1,000,000 pesos for school buildings in the 
different barrios, while the law authorizing the establishment of the University 
of the Philippines was among the first to be enacted. 

The policy of aiding and promoting by all possible means the education of 
every citizen has been constantly adhered to ever since that time, and now there 
is hardly a barrio of any importance having a sufficient number of school 
children, but has a primary school. Liberal appropriations have always been 
made for the bureau of education and the University of the Philippines. 

It remained, however, for the present legislature, composed of two elective 
houses, to finally solve and satisfactorily settle the question of giving primary 
education to all children of school age—a question which for many years had 
been pending of solution. On December 8, 1918, a law was passed appropriating 
the sum of 30,000,000 pesos, in addition to the regular annual appropriations 
for the bureau of education, in order that, within the period of 5 years, the 
plan of giving free primary education to all citizens of the Philippine Islands 
of school age could be carried out. 

From 1912 to 1918 the total number of children in the schools increased from 
440,000 to 675,000, an increase of 54 per cent. The number of schools was 3,000 
in 1912 and increased to 4,700 in 1918. During the same period the number of 
pupils in the intermediate schools went up to 67,000, an increase of 160 per cent. 
The number of high-school students came up to 16,000, an increase of 220 per 
cent. Voluntary contributions for the maintenance of schools and salary of 
teachers in those municipalities having insufficient funds for the purpose, 
have increased from 198,000 pesos in 1912 to 468,000 pesos in 1917. 

Such an improvement in the system of popular education, both as to quantity 
and quality, came hand in hand with the assumption of greater responsibility 
by the Filipinos. From the beginning the Filipino teachers have had charge of 
primary education, and they now constitute 98 per cent of the teaching force 
in the intermediate schools and 44 per cent of the teaching force in the second¬ 
ary schools. They have also been given access to higher administrative posi¬ 
tions. Of the 350 supervising teachers 86 per cent are Filipinos, and the 
majority of the academic and industrial supervisors are also Filipinos. There 
are six Filipino division superintendents of schools, and both the second assist¬ 
ant director of education and the under secretary of public instruction are 
Filipinos. 

The University of the Philippines has kept abreast with the spirit and devel¬ 
opment of our public school system. It was opened in 1908 with but four col¬ 
leges; namely, the Colleges of Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Law, and the 
School of Fine Arts. Later the School of Medicine of the Government, which 
wes previously established, became a part of the university. Then came the 
establishment of the Colleges of Liberal Arts, Engineering, Pharmacy, and 
Education. The plan of study followed by the university is of the most modern, 
and may be favorably compared with that of the best universities of the world. 

The following table of enrollment of students in the university shows clearly 
the rapid growth of that institution: 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


123 


Yoar. 

1911- 1912. 

1912- 1913. 

1913- 1914. 

1914- 1915. 

1915- 1916. 

1916- 1917. 

1917- 1918 

1918- 1919 


Number of 
students. 

__ 1,400 
__ 1,398 
__ 1,503 
__ 2,075 
__ 2,401 
__ 2,975 
__ 2,871 
__ 3,081 


The spirit which has guided the Filipinos in the adoption of all manner of 
measures for the education of the masses of people is sufficiently indicative 
of the fact that the Filipinos fully realize that popular education is the real 
basis of all democratic governments. They are determined by all means, not 
only to maintain the present school system, but also to develop it to the 
highest possible degree in order that the people may exert the power of an 
intelligent public opinion in the running of the affairs of their government. 

There are positive proofs to warrant the belief that the question of popular 
education will be adequately safeguarded under a Philippine independent 
government. The people themselves are clamoring for education, and there is 
no need of compulsory education laws, with the possible exception in the case 
of primitive communities of non-Chrstian tribes. The University of the Philip¬ 
pines has already trained a nucleus of sufficient number of young men in the 
different branches of learning, many of whom are now holding responsible 
positions in public administration. 

In this connection, it may not be amiss to advert to the policy adopted by 
the government several years ago, and ever since followed, of sending young 
men, graduates of the University of the Philippines and other educational 
, institutions in the islands, to the different centers of learning in America, 
Europe, and other foreign countries, for the purpose of furthering their studies 
and thereafter serve the government for the same number of years in which 
they have enjoyed government scholarship. This policy has been recently 
extended to those employees of government offices, who have demonstrated 
unusual talent and efficiency in the performance of their official duties, thus 
enabling them to make a special study in connection with their respective work. 

It is thus seen that the government has spared neither efforts nor money 
in the preparation of a competent personnel to take the place of the American 
experts who are leaving the public service. It is hoped that in this way it will 
be possible not only to maintain but to lift up, if possible, the high standards 
of public service in the country. 


SANITATION. 

The sanitation of the islands has been greatly improved. In 1914 the Philip¬ 
pines Legislature reorganized the health service, in order to insure greater 
efficiency and the cooperation of the provinces and municipalities in matters 
of public health. 

Under the old system the salaries of municipal health officers were paid 
by the municipalities and only those which could afford to pay obtained the 
services of physicians. Such as could not afford to pay employed sanitary 
inspectors who frequently did not have medical knowledge. Thus, many towns 
were without the services of a qualified physician. Again, under that system 
there were no differences of rank in the service, and health officer^ remained 
in the service without any chance of promotion. There was no law compelling 
the municipalities to devote a part of their funds to sanitation. For these 
reasons it was deemed necessary to reorganize the old bureau of health and 
convert it into the Philippine Health Service. 

This service is somewhat similar to the Public Health Service of the United 
States, in that a physician must pass an examination before being appointed 
to the service, and after a certain number of years he is given another exami¬ 
nation for the purpose of promotion. The positions in the service are graded. 
A physician who starts as assistant surgeon is promoted, first, to the grade of 
junior surgeon, then to that of senior surgeon, medical inspector, and chief of 
division. The work of the central office is distributed among the director of 
the Health Service and the chiefs of divisions. There is an assistant di¬ 
rector, who is at the same time a chief of division. There are three divisions; 
one for the provincial service, another for the hospital service, and still another 
for the health service of the city of Manila. 










124 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


In order that each and every municipality may have the benefit of the serv¬ 
ices of a physician, the different provinces combine two or more small munici¬ 
palities and place them under the care of a municipal physician. These groups 
of municipalities are called sanitary districts. The municipal physician is re¬ 
quired to distribute his time among the different towns in making inspection 
and receiving consultations; but even with such an arrangement some of the 
most remote places in the Mountain and Moro provinces could not have ob¬ 
tained the service of a physician if, in order to supply this defficiency, dis¬ 
pensaries were not opened under the care of competent persons, where the 
public may obtain medicine and receive medical treatment. At the present 
time, even the most remote places have health facilities which they could not 
obtain 10 years ago. 

Manila may be said to be the most sanitary city in the Far East, and will 
bear comparison with many of the cities of the United States and Europe. 
The streets have been widened and improved and the majority of them have 
asphalt pavement. The danger of smallpox, the terror of oriential countries, 
which previously has been menancing the islands with regular frequency, has 
been reduced to an insignificant degree. Since 1902 no cholera epidemic has 
attained any serious proportion. Malaria is now unknown in Manila. Many 
of the swamp districts have been filled up. 

Quite a number of municipalities have followed the example of Manila and 
there are now, at least, 10 cities which have modern water systems. In those 
towns where the construction of reservoirs has been found impracticable, 
artesian wells were drilled in order to supply the public with pure water. 

Charitable activities, such as the organization of antituberculosis societies 
and societies for the protection of children, have acquired new vigor during 
the last few years. There is now in the island the public welfare board, sub¬ 
sidized by the government, the duty of which is to coordinate the work of 
charitable institutions and to contribute to their funds for the accomplishment of 
their purposes. The sum of 1*1,000,000 has been appropriated in order to help the 
municipalities in the establishment of associations for the protection of children. 

The Culion Leper Colony has been maintained and liberally supplied with 
funds. The opposition on the part of those who suffer from the disease and 
their families to the confinement of the former to the colony, has disappeared, and 
now many a diseased person voluntarily presents himself to be taken to the colony. 

The quarantine service has also been maintained not only with efficiency, 
but has been supplied with modern equipments. 

Hospital service has undergone great improvement. The Philippine General 
Hospital at Manila is one of the best hospitals in the Orient. The Filipinization 
of its personnel was effected without impairing its efficency. Schools for nurses 
of both sexes are maintained both in this hospital and in that of Cebu, which 
has been recently opened. 

It would not be too much to say that the sanitation of the Philippines will be 
as well taken care of by the Filipinos as formerly, and the Filipino health 
officers, possessing as they do a better knowledge of the peculiar habits and 
needs of their own people, will be able to perform their duties both with effi¬ 
ciency and credit not only to themselves but also to those who have helped them 
in preparing for greater responsibilities. 

ECONOMIC PBOGEESS. 

The passage of the Jones law has given rise to the belief on the part of some 
people that the material progress of the islands would suffer a setback. Facts 
have shown just the contrary. The declaration of the purpose of the United 
States to grant the Philippines its independence as soon as a stable government 
shall have been organized therein, and the practically complete control of public 
affairs given to the Filipinos have not only not caused any economic crisis, but 
have gone far toward placing the economic life of the country on stronger 
foundations. The last five years have witnessed the greatest prosperity and 
the highest economic development the islands ever had. Of the total foreign 
trade in the Philippines in 1918, which amounted to 1*468,563,496, as against 
f*215,391,484 in 1913, 63.4 per cent was with the United States, as against 42.65 
per cent in 1913. This fact goes to show that the establishment of an autono¬ 
mous Philippine government preparatory to independence has served to 
strengthen the commercial bonds between the United States and the Philip¬ 
pines. Mutual confidence and understanding has brought about greater eco¬ 
nomic relations, just as in the past distrust and misunderstanding has had the 
tendency of disturbing these relations. 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


125 


Another theory which has been exploded is that economic independence 
-on e come before political independence and that, therefore, the people 
s ion Id not ask tor political freedom before securing their economic independ- 
^ nc( y * >lir experience during the last five years has demonstrated the con- 
tiai /7y iat * s sa 7’ that no country can expect to prosper in a material 
w a t \ before having in its hands the political agencies and instrumentalities 
essential thereto; in short, the most effective instrumentality for economic 
piogiess is political autonomy. Before the establishment of Philippine 
autonomy, Filipino merchants and manufacturers could not compete with 
foreigners for lack of credit and banking facilities, which were controlled by 
the latter. But the organization of an autonomous Philippine government 
has pa\ ed the way lor a phenomenal development of the commercial activities 
of the people. The government created the Philippine National Bank, whose 
resources amounted only to §*20,000,000 in 1916, which increased to more than 
§*230,000,000 in 1918. This success has probably very few precedents in the 
world’s history of banking. 

The total foreign trade of the islands in 1913 was §*215,391,484, with a 
balance against the islands of §*11,000,000, while last year, 1918, our foreign 
trade amounted to §*468,563,494, with a balance in our favor of §*74,196,648, 
which means an increase of §*253,172,010, or 129 per cent, in 1918 over 1913. 

Our money circulation has increased also, for in 1913 we had §*50,697,282, 
or §*5.52 per capita, while»at present we have in circulation §*132,602,968, or 
§*13.6S per capita. 

Taxation in the Philippines was §*4.28 per capita in 1913, compared with 
§*5.36 per capita in 1917. 

Another eloquent proof of the remarkable development of the islands is the 
fact that during the last few years 3,065 domestic corporations and firms were 
organized with a capital of §*452,192,197, to say nothing of 95 large firms, 
American and foreign, of world-wide reputation and with enormous capital, 
which have their branches in the Philippines. 

PUBLIC WORKS AND PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS. 

Our economic prosperity thus far obtained is undoubtedly due in large 
measure to the policy steadily pursued by the government of devoting every 
year considerable sums of money to the promotion and extension of public 
works and permanent improvements. Roads have therefore been built every¬ 
where, thus putting in communication with the outside world places hitherto 
inaccessible, and through an excellent system of maintenance we have been 
able to prevent the destruction of these roads and get the greatest benefit 
possible from the money invested. Shipping has been likewise fostered with 
the construction of piers and wharves, the dredging of rivers and the making 
of other improvements in many ports. The lighthouse system has been 
improved and the work of coast survey continued. The mileage of our rail¬ 
roads has been increased, post and telegraph offices have been opened in many 
municipalities, public markets—substantial as well as hygienic—have been 
built, water works systems have been installed; in brief, a broad policy of 
public works and permanent improvements in all the Provinces has been 
worked out, yielding the quickest and most beneficial results. The following 
figures show the progress of road building in the islands: 

Roads in existence from 1908 to 1918. 


Year. 

First-class 

road. 

Second- 
class road. 

Third-class 

road. 

Total. 

Total expendi¬ 
ture for roads. 


Km. 

Km. 

Km. 

Km,. 


1908. 

397.0 

0) 

0) 

397.0 

0) 

1909. 

553.5 

0) 

( l ) 

553.5 

0) 

1910. 

1,230.2 

1,031.3 

3,337.6 

5,599.1 

0) 

1911 .:. 

1,587.6 

1,068.9 

2,956. 8 

5,613.3 

*■5,671,438.56 

1912. 

1,839.6 

2,159.9 

3,216.8 

7,216.3 

5,961,858.67 


2,097. 3 

2,034. 6 

3,118.1 

7,250. 0 

6,949,596.39 

1913 2 . 

2,233.8 

2,024.6 

3,138.7 

7,397.1 

3,680,435. 09 

1914. 

2,564. 0 

2,024.3 

2,875. 7 

7,464.0 

7,201,190. 79 


3, 067. 7 

2,082.2 

3,051.7 

8,201.6 

7,699,097. 86 

1916. 

3,439.6 

2,045. 8 

3,440.7 

8,926.1 

8,035,141.05 

1917. 

3,738. 7 

2,056. 6 

3,348.4 

9,188.9 

8,852,360. 05 

1918 3. 

3,936. 0 

2,019.9 

3,294.8 

9,250. 7 

5,744,839. 52 


Data not available. 


2 July 1 to Dec. 31, 1913. 


s Jan. 1 to June 30 only. 


























126 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


INCOME AND EXPENSES. 

The following figures show the progress made in the finances of the govern¬ 
ment during the last three years: 

Financial condition of the insular government during the last three years. 


Items of revenue and expenditure. 

1915 

1916 

1917 

Increase or de¬ 
crease 1916-17. 

Sources of revenue: 

Revenue from taxation. 

F25,769,492. 78 
1,191,204. 53 

8,479,212. 96 
80,720. 73 

f*27,957,308.95 
1,664,392. 05 

9,326,810. 77 
175,262.89 
157,526.05 

125,315.10 
6,298,239. 88 

F35,448,412. 30 
2,296,270. 32 

11,832,921.62 
52,626.02 
314,786.78 

337,470.62 
4,498,753.78 

F7,491,103.35 
631,878. 27 

2,506,110. 85 
(122,636. 87 > 
157,260. 73 

212,155. 52 
(1,799,486.10) 

Incidental revenue. 

Revenue from commercial and in¬ 
dustrial units. 

Other income of operating units.... 
Dividends on bank stocks. 

Income from United States Army 
Transport. Service. 


Other revenues. 

3,927,589. 70 

Total revenue. 

39,448,220. 70 

45,704,855. 69 

54,781,241.44 

9,076,385. 75 

Expenditures: 

General administration . 

26,558,476.16 

7,182,996. 20 
972,193. 75 
982,786. 63 

25,384,849.41 

7,623,904. 40 
1,000,117.30 
686,873.14 
22,500. 00 
99,476. 30 
6,042,123. 53 
46,969.05 

29,437,890. 53 

9,063,829. 24 
1,289,822. 62 
855,639. 49 
22,500. 00 
584,353. 28 
3,992,291.45 
162,391.13 

4,053,041.12 

1,439,924.84 
289,705. 32 
168,766.35 

Expenditures of operation of indus¬ 
trial and commercial units, etc... 
Interest on public debt. 

Sinking funds. 

R epa.yment. of loans. 

Gratuities. 


484,876.98 
(2,049,832. 08) 
115,422. 08 

Outlays and investments. 

2,065,496. 60 
335,251. 25 

Other expenditures. 

Total expenditures. 

38,097,200. 59 

40,906,813.13 

45,408,717. 74 

4,501,904. 61 

Current surplus for the year. 

1,351,020.11 

8,883,096.66 

4,798,042. 56 

10,234,116. 77 

9,372,523. 70 

15,032,159. 33 

4,574,481.14 

4,798,042. 56 

Current surplus at the beginning of the 
year. 

Current surplus at the end of the year.. 

10,234,116. 77 

15,032,159.33 

24,404,683.03 

9,372,523.70 


Note.—F igures in parentheses indicate decreases. 


THE NON-CHRISTIAN TRIBES. 

Before President Wilson decided in 1913 to appoint a Filipino majority to 
the Philippine Commission, the control over the so-called non-Christian tribes 
was entirely in the hands of Americans. It was not until that year that the 
Filipinos assumed the responsibility for these tribes. Both the Philippine Com¬ 
mission with Filipino majority and the Philippine Legislature have expressed 
in unequivocal terms through legislative acts a liberal and altruistic policy 
looking to the welfare and betterment of these primitive people. 

The act organizing the department of Mindanao and Sulu, in 1914, was passed 
with the object of carrying out this policy, and of furnishing said territory with 
a central organization and with officials who could more directly look after 
the welfare of the inhabitants. Later the legislature established the bureau 
of non-Christian tribes, provided for in section 22 of the Jones law, and set 
forth the duties of the same in the following words: 

“ To foster through all adequate means and in systematic rapid and thorough 
. manner the material, moral, economic, social, and political development of the 
regions inhabited by non-Christian Filipinos, always having in view the per¬ 
manent mutual understanding and complete fusion of the Christian and non- 
Christian elements living in the Provinces of the archipelago.” 

To insure the success of this policy the organization and extension of public 
schools in all the non-Christian territory has been the object of special care. 
Since 1903 primary schools in Mindanao and Sulu where the Arabic and Eng¬ 
lish languages were taught have been organized. However, in view of the 
novelty of the plan and the distrust on the part of the Moros and other non- 
Christians, the success of the public schools was very little. Toward the end 
of the school year 1914 the attendance of these schools was 4,535. During the last 
five years, when the Filipinos shaped the legislative policy toward the Moros, 
progress in education has been tremendous. The following figures show the 






































PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 127 


average daily attendance and the expenses incurred from 1912 to the present 
time: 


Fiscal year. 

Average daily 
attendance. 

Expenses. 

1912. 

3 807 

P'93,987.00 
137 069 00 

1913. 

4 535 

1918. 

16,114 

l 650 000 00 




1 Calculated. 


A clearer idea of the progress of education amongst the non-Christians will 
be given by the following data: The number of teachers in the Mountain 
Province in 1912 was 93; to-day there are 251. In 1912 there were 64 teachers 
in the Province of Nueva Viscaya; at present there are 67. In the whole 
department of Mindanao and Sulu there were only 99 teachers in 1912, whereas 
to-day there are 783. The splendid spirit demonstrated by these teachers, by 
leaving their homes to go out to the non-Christian provinces, is going to be a 
strong factor for the unification and nationalization of the different elements 
of the country. 

Side by side with the extension of public schools, the public health service 
has also progressed. In 1914 the school and health authorities in charge of 
the department of Mindanao and Sulu established a combined plan of schools 
and public dispensaries, of which 17 are already in operation at central points. 
Approximately 30,000 patients receive treatment in these dispensaries every 
year. Besides these school dispensaries there are 9 special ones under the con¬ 
trol of the health service. 

No less important than the health work is the extension of public works to 
all the regions inhabited by the non-Christians. Special attention has been de¬ 
voted to the construction and maintenance of roads, the improvement of ports 
and landings, the extension and maintenance of telephone lines, waterworks, and 
the construction of public buildings, especially schools and hospitals. 

But this is not all that has been done. The non-Christians are also taught 
how to get the best results from the natural resources of their soil. Every year 
a considerable number of graduates from the College of Agriculture are sent 
to the non-Christian Provinces to the end that they may teach the inhabitants 
the modern methods of cultivation. Interisland migration has been fostered 
by the Government’s help to those who establish themselves on Mindanao and 
Sulu lands for the purpose of cultivating them and of living with their 
non-Christian brothers. In 1917 the Philippine Legislature appropriated the 
sum of P100,000 for this purpose, which amount was increased to f*250,000 
last year. 

By virtue of the .Tones law the non-Christian tribes were for the first 
time granted representation in the National Legislature. Three prominent 
and representative Moros and two pagans have been appointed members of the 
senate and of the house of representatives. The Moro senator and representa¬ 
tives have been given the special privilege of taking the oath of office in 
accordance with the rites prescribed by the Korean. This step was looked 
upon by the Mohammedans as a proof of religious tolerance and respect for 
Mohammedan beliefs on the part of the Christian Filipinos. 

At the time of the inauguration of the Philippine Legislature important 
memorials were presented, expressing the feelings of confidence and affection 
of the Moros toward their Christian brothers. These memorials were sent to 
both houses of the legislature and were signed by the Sultan of Sulu and by the 
most influential datos of the different provinces of the department. In them 
they express their gratitude for the material benefits received and the political 
privileges granted them during the last three years, and also for the liberal 
appropriations for public works, health service, and schools for the representa¬ 
tion allowed them in the Philippine Legislature in accordance with the new 
organic law of the Philippine Islands. In these memorials the hope is also 
expressed that the administration will continue making closer the present rela¬ 
tions among the inhabitants of the Philippines. Most of the data referred to 
has been taken from a recent official report submitted by Gov. Frank W. Car¬ 
penter, of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, who is at the same time 
chief of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes. 

















128 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

It can be asserted without dispute that the English language serves at the 
present time as a common medium of communication among the islanders 
who still speak their own dialects. The progress of the English language has 
been the result of the splendid work done by the public schools, and to-day Eng¬ 
lish is the language most widely spoken in the whole archipelago. Business 
between the central government and most of the Provinces and municipalities 
is transacted in English. True, the proceedings of the Philippine Legislature 
are still in Spanish, but the acts are translated into English. The English 
language prevails in the commercial transactions of the islands. 

We will not have to wait very long before the English language is the official 
language even in the courts, and the language most generally used in private life. 
The present leaders of the people have a working knowledge of the language 
and many of them read and write it fairly, if they do not speak it, with few 
difficulties in their official conversations. The younger generation has a thor¬ 
ough knowledge of the language and speaks and writes it in most cases. 

The spread of this language as the common language of the inhabitants of 
the archipelago is insured, not only because it is the basis of instruction in 
the public schools, but also because it is essential to the best interests and the 
future of the people. Once the plan is carried out of giving primary instruc¬ 
tion to every child of school age, there is no doubt that the generations to come 
will speak English, which will certainly obtain a firm foothold among the 
people. 

It is not only the public schools that teach English; the private schools do 
so likewise. The law requires the department of public instruction to grant 
licenses for private schools, to exercise supervision over private schools and 
colleges of all kinds, with the power to approve their courses of study and to 
revoke their licenses if the conditions established by the government are not 
fulfilled. For a long time now these colleges and schools have been ordered to 
make English one of the required subjects and their instruction has steadily 
improved. 

It is inconceivable that the Filipino people, when they shall have become inde¬ 
pendent, would take any step other than that of continuing this policy. It 
would be unreasonable to undo what has been done, without mentioning the 
great expense which such change of policy would involve. We, therefore, ven¬ 
ture to assert that the predominance of English is assured. 

REQUISITES FOR A STABLE GOVERNMENT. 

The phrase “ stable government ” has a definite meaning in the foreign 
relations of the United States, especially in connection with its dealings with 
the weak countries that have fought for their independence. This is not the 
first time that the American Government has made use of this phrase as regards 
the recognition of new States. 

The conditions required by the United States before granting such recogni¬ 
tion are merely conditions of fact; that is to say, whether a government de 
facto is established and whether such government has conditions of stability. 
In 1875 there was considerable agitation in the United States for the recogni¬ 
tion of Cuban independence, and President Grant in his message to Congress 
expressed the idea that recognition would not be possible until the Cuban 
people could establish a government possessing elements of stability. Quot¬ 
ing his words: 

“ Where a considerable body of people, who have attempted to free them¬ 
selves of the control of the superior government, have reached such point in 
occupation of territory, in power, and in general organization as to constitute 
in fact a body politic, having a government in substance as well as in name, 
possessed of the element of stability, and equipped with the machinery for the 
administration of internal policy and the execution of its laws, prepared and 
able to administer justice at home as well as in its dealings with other powers, 
it is within the province of those other powers to recognize its existence as a new 
and independent nation.” 

Dwelling further on what he thought a stable government was, he said: 

“ To establish the condition of things essential to the recognition of this fact 
there must be a people occupying a known territory, united under some known 
and defined form of government, acknowledged by those subject thereto, in which 
the functions of government are administered by usual methods, competent to 
mete out justice to citizens and strangers, to afford remedies for public and 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


129 


private wrongs, and able to assume the correlative international obligations and 
capable of performing the corresponding international duties resulting from its 
acquisition of the rights of sovereignty.” 

President McKinley, in discussing the recognition of the independence of 
Cuba, quoted the words of President Grant, saying: 

“ The United States, in addition to the test imposed by public law as the 
condition of the recognition of independence by a neutral state (to wit, that 
the revolted state shall ‘ constitute in fact a body politic, having a government in 
substance as well as in name, possessed of all the elements of stability,’ and 
forming de facto, ‘ if left to itself, a state among the nations, reasonably capable 
of discharging the duties of a state’), has imposed for its own government in 
dealing with cases like these the further condition that recognition of inde¬ 
pendent statehood is not due to a revolted dependency until the danger of its 
being again subjugated by the parent state has entirely passed away.” 

As a result of the war, Spain had to withdraw her sovereignty from Cuba. 
The American Government temporarily occupied the islands and proceeded to 
organize a stable government. The first measure was the taking of a census 
which would show the degree of poliical capacity of the people. In this way 
it was found that 60 per cent of the inhabitants of the island could neither 
read nor write (a percentage greater than in the Philippines, where illiteracy is 
30 per cent) and limited suffrage was established, based more or less on the 
same conditions now required in the Philippines. After the census the military 
governor, Gen. Wood, promulgated a law which provided for the holding of pro¬ 
vincial and municipal elections. Thereafter the same voters who took part in 
these elections were qualified to choose the members of the constitutional con¬ 
vention which drafted the constitution, of Cuba. The military governor 
inaugurated the convention and by order of the Secretary of War said, among 
other things: 

“ It will be your duty first to frame and adopt a constitution of Cuba * * * 

adequate to secure a stable, orderly, and free government.” 

The constitution adopted by the Cuban people was not entirely satisfactory 
to Secretary Root, but, being the result of conscientious deliberations by the 
representatives of the people of Cuba, it was accepted. On December 31, 1901, 
the people of Cuba chose their provincial governors, their councilors and mem¬ 
bers of the house of representatives, and the presidential and senatorial 
electors. These last met on February 24, 1902, in order to choose the President, 
vice president, and senators. After the election of these officials the American 
Government made ready to transfer to their hands the reins of government. 
The condition of stability had been fulfilled, and on May 20, 1902, the military 
governor, on behalf of the President of the United States, read the memorable 
document which transferred to “ the duly elected representatives of the people 
of Cuba, the government and control of the islands,” and declared “ the occu¬ 
pation of Cuba by the United States and the military government of the 
islands ” to be ended. 

A “ stable government ” has, therefore, been construed to mean, in the case 
of Cuba, a government duly chosen by the people. This was the clear inter¬ 
pretation adopted by the American Government. 

It is evident that this is the same interpretation given to the phrase “ stable 
government ” as used in the preamble of the Jones law. 

That the Filipinos now have a government of this sort, a government con¬ 
stituted by the people, able to preserve order and to comply with its interna¬ 
tional obligations, can not be denied by any fair-minded man who knows the 
conditions of the country. Our present government is a government based 
on the peaceful suffrage of the people, representing the whole country, de¬ 
riving their powers from the people and subject to the limitations and safe¬ 
guards which the experience of constitutional government has shown to be 
essential to the maintenance and protection of individual rights. 

Our central, provincial, and municipal governments rest upon the peaceful 
suffrage of the Filipino people. The insular government has at its disposal a 
complete governmental machinery, recognized and supported by the people. 
The guiding part of this machinery is already in the hands of the Filipinos. 
There is a Philippine Legislature, whose members are elected by the qualified 
voters of the islands, which legislative body is invested with general legisla¬ 
tive powers within the limitations laid down by the Jones law. In said legis¬ 
lature the non-Christian element is represented by nine members, appointed by 
the Governor General. We have also a judicial system based upon the American 


122031—19-9 



130 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


principle of independence of the judicial department. Our laws and our 
courts are of the modern type, like those of the most progressive nations of 
the West. Our codes are based on Spanish and American jurisprudence, tak¬ 
ing from the Spanish substantive laws, their conciseness, symmetry and phi¬ 
losophy, and from the American laws of procedure, their facility, common sense, 
and efficiency. The limitations and safeguards for the protection of individual 
rights are thoroughly ingrained in the political life of the Filipino people and 
no political change that might take place would in anyway impair them. 

We have, therefore, a stable government in the Philippines which fulfills all 
the conditions required by the United States in other cases of recognition of 
new States, especially in the case of Cuba, and this government is now in 
operation and is practically controlled and directed by the Filipinos themselves. 
If the Governor and Vice Governor General of the Philippine Islands were to 
be suddenly withdrawn from the archipelago and in their place Filipinos were 
appointed, no part of the governmental machinery would suffer thereby and 
every piece thereof would move as regularly and as orderly as at present. 

The testimony of the representatives of the American Government in the 
islands during all the time that the Philippine Government was in the hands 
of the Filipinos bears out the assertion which we make in regard to the con¬ 
ditions of stability of the Philippine Government. 

Says Gov. Harrison: 

“ There are about 1,000 municipalities in the Philippines, all of which are 
governed by elective Filipino officials. There are about 42 Provinces in the 
islands, likewise governed by Filipinos. There are two elective houses of the 
legislature composed entirely of Filipinos. Out of seven members in the 
cabinet, six are Filipinos and most of the heads of the executive departments of 
the government are Filipinos to-day. It is true that there are still some 700 
Americans in the Phlippines, but for the most part they are teachers, professors, 
and scientists, and to my mind a class of men who would be desired by the 
Filipinos even if they had complete independence. 

“ That presents a picture of practical autonomy. It has been going on for 
the last two and a half years, or ever since the recent charter has been given 
us by Congress, and in my opinion, during those two and a half years the 
Filipinos, having been given an opportunity, have satisfactorily demonstrated 
the fact that they have already established and are maintaining the stable form 
of government which is prescribed in the preamble to the Jones bill as a pre¬ 
requisite to their independence.” 

On another occasion he said: 

“ By temperament, by experience, by financial ability, in every way the 
10,000,000 Filipinos are entitled to be free from every government.” 

Vice Gov. Charles E. Yeater, in an official telegram to the Secretay of War, 
reports: 

“ The capacity for initiative and the constructive spirit evidenced by the 
legislature, the first organized under the Jones law, is worthy of great com¬ 
mendation. Its capacity to investigate government problems and to act ex- 
pediously, but with due caution is certainly unprecedented in history, consid¬ 
ering that for three centuries, this people had practically no political rights 
and were debarred from the benefits of education. American legislative practice 
and procedure has always been examined, and with few exceptions followed. 
As indicative, however, of their independent frame of mind, it may be noted 
that a single legislative committee has had charge of both appropriations and 
ways and means since 1907, and under the provisions of the Jones law, has 
adopted substantially the basic principles of the English budget system, in¬ 
stead of maintaining a rigorous application of the theory of the separation of 
governmental powers as far as the legislative and executive departments are 
concerned, the latter, directed by an American. This legislature has given to 
the secretaries of the various departments the right to appear before either 
house to defend oublicly the measures proposed by the executive or to oppose 
measures originated in such houses. Finally, as one of the representatives in 
these islands, of the United States, I wish to attest the patriotism of the 
Filipinos and their loyal attachment to the United States Government. This 
legislature, which has just terminated its sessions, has acted with judgment 
and prudence in what it has done and left undone during its term now 
drawing to a close, and should be credited for the wisdom with which it has 
guided and directed the Filipino people in the paths of order and tranquillity 
during these recent years of almost universal turmoil and unrest. Perfect 
peace has prevailed here and all provincial and municipal government instru¬ 
mentalities of force have had no function to perform.” 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


131 


In regard to honesty and efficiency, the Philippine government can be favor¬ 
ably compared to the best in the world. No charge of bribery has been made 
against any high official. Cases of misappropriation of public funds have been 
exceptionally few, and only subordinate officials were involved. The offend- 
ing parties have been discharged from the service, and whenever sufficient evi¬ 
dence for conviction was available, they were prosecuted. 

Efficiency in the civil service has been maintained at a high standard. Ap¬ 
pointments of chiefs and assistant chiefs of division have been based strictly 
on merit and not on political considerations. In most cases, men who had 
served for a long time have been promoted to these positions, with a view to 
the efficiency of the service. 

Every citizen has enjoyed civil and political rights, without hindrance and 
amid public peace and safety. Religious tolerance has grown to such an extent 
that all Christian denominations are working in perfect harmony; Moham¬ 
medans and Christians in Mindanao and Sulu respect each others’ religious 
practices. Moral campaigns have been carried on at all times, with appre¬ 
ciable results in the uplift of the people. 

The progress made along material and economic lines in recent years shows 
the entire confidence of all the residents of the Philippines in the orderly and 
stable conditions of the country. 


III. 

It would seem to be entirely unnecessary to discuss the question of whether 
•or not the Filipinos desire to be independent at this time, but some doubt 
being entertained by a number of American citizens as to whether the Fili¬ 
pinos, after being given the opportunity to manage their domestic affairs would 
not prefer, for their best interests, to continue certain relations of political 
dependence with the United States, we have decided to devote this chapter to 
a treatment of the present aspirations of the people in relation to the inde¬ 
pendence problem. 

If the historical events in the Philippines in 1896 and 1898 are studied, it v 
will be seen that the longing for independence was the most powerful senti¬ 
ment behind the revolution against Spain in the latter year. With the break¬ 
ing out of hostilities between the United States and Spain the Filipinos saw 
their chance to destroy Spanish dominion and to declare their independence. 
They turned a deaf ear to the alluring promises made by the Spanish authori¬ 
ties, and with the moral and material support of the Americans, they (the 
Filipinos) were fortuntely able to defeat the Spanish forces and to seize prac¬ 
tically all of the territory of the islands. Then the Filipinos organized a 
government under Aguinaldo, whose authority spread throughout the islands 
and received the approbation and consent of the people. 

This aspiration for independence was the thing that moved the Filipinos to 
go through the sufferings and sacrifices of another war against the Americans 
in 1S99, in spite of the fact that they knew beforehand the weakness of their 
forces and the certainty of their defeat in the face of the formidable power 
and the unlimited resources of the people of the United States. It has fre¬ 
quently been said that the war against the Americans was but the work of a 
group of Tagals, but the extent and duration of the military operations carried 
on by the American forces and the unanimous resistance with which thev met 
everywhere prove that the national sentiment of the Filipinos was opposed^ 
to a new domination. 

The Filipinos accepted peace, not for the purpose of giving up their aspira¬ 
tions for independence, but only to change their method of obtaining them. 
They were willing to go through the training in self-government which was 
required of them in the hope that they would thus secure their independence 
sooner. They were convinced of their own capacity and, therefore, instead 
of obstructing the work of reconstruction and progress inaugurated by the 
American Government, they heartily lent their cooperation, at the same time 
bending every energy to secure larger opportunities to show in actual practice 
and in the exercise of great responsibilities what they could do in govern¬ 
mental affairs. 

The history of the last 10 years, from the organization of the Philippine 
Assembly, when for the first time the people were permitted to express their 
-opinion in regard to their political future, proves beyond doubt the firm and 
unswerving determination of the Filipinos to obtain a full recognition of their 
International sovereignty. 


132 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


Speaker Osmena, in a speech delivered at the close of the legislative session 
on June 19, 1908, made the following utterances: 

“ Through all the vicissitudes, difficulties, and reverses, the ideal of the Fili : 
pino people has remained unalterable. The adverse fortune of Filipino arms 
has not shaken the aspirations of the people; neither has the false hope so often 
held out in the midst of people’s misfortunes, of the possibility of the Philip¬ 
pines being made a State of the great American Union, ever made them hesi¬ 
tate in the least. The Filipino people accepted peace, principally because they 
expected justice from the American people. Far from holding aloof from or 
making difficult the work of the government in its implantation, they did every¬ 
thing they could to promote and improve it. They went to the polls when the- 
municipal government was established ; they also willingly took part in the gov¬ 
ernment of the provinces when amid countless difficulties and when the ruins 
of the revolution still loomed grim and terrible they were called upon to do so; 
and they chose their representatives when the solemn hour came for the most 
difficult test of their capacity to manage their own destinies. But neither be¬ 
fore nor after did they yield to promise or fear; before and after they aspired 
for their national independence, both when they cast their vote in favor of a 
free and independent life, and when yesterday on the battlefield they offered 
the lives of their best sons for the sake of our country and of her ideals. We 
must thus speak clearly in this august place, where fallacy does not lurk, 
where deceit has no place and where truth finds its seat, and where justice pre¬ 
sents itself with all of its lofty attributes; we must speak thus in this place 
where we feel with full sense of responsibility our love, our most legitimate 
veneration for the Philippines. 

“ The Filipino people aspire to-day, as before taking up arms for the second 
time against Spain, as thereafter in the din of arms and then in peace, for their 
national independence. 

“Allow me, gentlemen of the house, following the dictates of my conscience as 
a delegate, as a representative of the country, under my responsibility as 
speaker of this house, to declare solemnly as I do now before God and before 
the world, that we believe that our people aspire for their independence, that 
our people consider themselves capable of leading an orderly life, efficient for 
themselves and for others, in the concert of free and civilized nations, and that 
we believe that if the people of the United States were to decide at this 
moment the Philippine cause in favor of the Filipinos the latter could, in assum¬ 
ing the consequent responsibility, comply with their duties to themselves and 
to others, without detriment to liberty, to justice and to right.” 

At the close of the legislative session on May 20, 1909, the following reso¬ 
lution was passed by the Philippine Assembly: 

“ Whereas, at the meeting of June 19, 1908, the Assembly approved and 
adopted the following words of the Speaker, to wit: 

“ ‘ Allow me, gentlemen of the house, following the dictates of my con¬ 
science as a delegate, as a representative of the country, under my re¬ 
sponsibility as speaker of this house, to declare solemnly as I do now 
before God and before the world, that we believe that our people aspire for 
their independence, that our people consider themselves capable of leading 
an orderly life, efficient for themselves and for others, in the concert of 
free and civilized nations, and that we believe that if the people of the 
United States were to decide at this moment the Philippine cause in favor 
of the Filipinos the latter could, in assuming the consequent responsibility, 
comply with their duties to themselves and to others, without detriment to 
liberty, to justice and to right.’ ” 

“ Whereas, the Hon. Manuel L. Quezon, Delegate from Tayabas, attended said 
meeting and voted in favor of said resolution, and said Hon. Manuel L. 
Quezon is now elected Resident Commissioner of the Philippine Islands in 
the United States; therefore, be it 

“ Resolved , That this House state to the Resident Commissioner elect, 
Hon. Manuel L. Quezon, that the members thereof would be highly satisfied 
if upon his appearance before the Congress of the United States and when he 
finds opportunity therefor, he should make known to said Congress our 
aspiration for independence as expressed at the meeting of the Assembly on 
June 19, 1908.” 

Resident Commissioner Mr. Quezon in fulfilling the instructions contained 
in the above resolution, delivered a speech in the House of Representatives 
on May 14, 1910, in the course of which he said: 

“ Mr. Chairman, from what I have said it can be seen that the affairs of 
the islands are not in a very encouraging state; rather, that the outlook is 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


133 


depressing. The Filipinos, however, are patiently and hopefully looking for¬ 
ward to brighter days. We are aware that you have not gone to those islands 
for your own profit; we are aware that you have not gone there to subjugate 
us, but to emancipate us. The lesson of your history—the most brilliant his¬ 
tory of all the nations of the world—is inconsistent with any other motive in 
your dealings with the Filipinos than that of making them free. This great 
republic, founded and reared by liberty-loving people, can not undertake any 
task not in keeping with right, justice, happiness, and liberty for all mankind. 
We have an unshaken faith in the future destiny of our beloved fatherland, 
since its fate was committed to your care. We firmly believe and sincerely 
trust that the day will soon come when this Congress, composed of the repre¬ 
sentatives of a God-fearing people, will generously give to us the blessings of 
that freedom which has made you so happy, so prosperous, and so great, and 
which is after all the keynote of the happiness and prosperity of every people. 
When that time comes, and let us hope that it may happen to-morrorw, the 
day when was raised in the Philippines the ever-glorious Stars and Stripes 
will eternally be the best celebrated day of our natioanl life.” 

In a memorial submitted to the then Secretary of War, Mr. Dickinson, by the 
Nacionalista Party on September I, 1910, the following was said: 

“ These facts are mentioned with the object of showing that the persistency 
of the Filipinos in being independent is bound up in the recollections of that 
short period of their past in which, associated with the Americans, they threw 
down the secular power of a sovereignty and experienced the satisfaction and 
happiness of governing by themselves their interests and their future. Then 
they understood how satisfactory and sweet to the citizens is the yoke imposed 
by the power of its own laws and the government by men of its own race, and 
how close and loyal is the cooperation which exists between people and gov¬ 
ernment to better the interests of the country and to enter resolutely and with¬ 
out embarrassment into the wide ways of human progress. Then the Filipinos 
abandoned all the vicous practices which the former sovereignty had extended 
over all the masses and recovered the good qualities which people free from 
all yoke possessed. This moved the Filipinos to resist with all their force the 
new American domination, and to submit to it only when they fully understood 
that they might be independent in a more or less short period. The efforts 
of the Filipinos in defense of that government, the blood which its soldiers 
shed, and the money which was employed in the service of the Filipino flag, 
recalls to them constantly that short period of its happiness and makes them 
consider the present as a temporary situation which they desire to abbreviate 
as much as possible in order to acquire the satisfaction of their national am¬ 
bitions and their intentions of elevation and enrichment of the country.” 

On February 3,1911, the Philippine Assembly passed the following resolution: 

“ Resolved , That the assembly ask, as it hereby does ask, the Congress of the 
United States immediately to recognize the independence of the Filipino people 
in the form expressed in the Memorial of the Nacionalista Party, dated Sep¬ 
tember 1, 1910; 

“Resolved further , That the assembly adopt each and every conclusion and 
proposition contained in said memorial, and 

“Resolved further, That this resolution be transmitted by cable to the Con¬ 
gress of the United States and to the Resident Commissioners of the Philippine 
Island, suggesting that they present and support the same in Congress before 
the termination of the present session of said Congress.” 

On February 1, 1912, the Philippine assembly reiterated its petition in the 
following terms: 

“Resolved, That the Philippine assembly reiterate, as it hereby does reit- 
ate, the petition for immediate independence of the Philippines to the Congress 
of the United States. 

“ Resolved, further, That this resolution be transmitted by cable to the Resi¬ 
dent Commissioners in Washington, recommending that the same be conveyed to 
and supported in said Congress.” 

On February 11, 1913, in view of the change of administration in the United 
States, Speaker Osmena in his speech at the close of the legislative session made 
the following declarations: 

“ There in America another party now comes to power, the Democratic party. 
Old in history, new in victory, this party has been unceasingly fighting for the 
ideals of the Filipino people for more than a decade. It stated in a solemn man¬ 
ner before all the nations on its Baltimore platform the following: 

“ ‘ We reaffirm the position thrice announced by the Democracy in national 
convention assembled against a policy of imperialism and colonial exploitation 


134 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


in the Philippines or elsewhere. We condemn the experiment in imperialism as 
an inexcusable blunder, which has involved us in enormous expenses, brought 
us weakness instead of strength, and laid our Nation open to the charge of 
abandonment of the fundamental doctrine of self-government. We favor an 
immediate declaration of the nation’s purpose to recognize the independence of 
the Philippine Islands as soon as a stable government can be established, such 
independence to be guaranteed by us until the neutraliaztion of the islands can 
be secured by treaty with other powers. 

“ ‘ In recognizing the independence of the Philippines our Government should 
retain such land as may be necessary for coaling stations and naval bases.’ ” 

“ We trust that the meaning of these words, which are clear and unmis¬ 
takable, will be transmuted into reality. I believe and hope that this will be 
done, because the American people are just. The die is cast, and God, who has 
never failed the other people, will not fail ours. In the meantime, let us remain 
quiet; let every one stay in his rank, fighting as he can; let us carry on our 
campaigns with courage and disinterestedness, and either we are entirely mis¬ 
taken, or the days to come will be to the Filipino people, who have struggled so 
much and suffered so much, days of vindication, days of liberty.” 

On October 16, 1913, the Philippine Assembly passed the following: 

[“ Resolution sending to the President of the United States of America through the 
Governor General of the Philippines a message from the Philippine Assembly in the 
name of the Filipino people.”] 

“ Whereas, the President of the United States has sent through the governor 
general, the Hon. Francis Burton Harrison, a message to the people of the 
Philippines, and said message was duly delivered on the 16th day of October, 
1913, its text being as follows: 

“ ‘ We regard ourselves as trustees acting not for the advantage of the 
United States, but for the benefit of the people of the Philippine Islands. 

“ ‘ Every step we take will be taken with a view to the ultimate independ¬ 
ence of the islands, and as a preparation for that independence. And we 
hope to move towards that end as rapidly as the safety and the permanent 
interests of the islands will permit. After each step taken experience will 
guide us to the next. 

“ ‘ The administration will take one step at once and will give to the native 
citizens of the islands a majority in the appointive commission, and thus in 
the upper as well as in the lower house of the legislature a majority repre¬ 
sentative will be secured. 

“ ‘ We do this in the confident hope and expectation that immediate proof 
will be given in the action of the commission under the new arrangement of 
the political capacity of those native citizens who have already come forward 
to represent and to lead their people in affairs.’ Therefore, be it 

“ Resolved , That the Philippine assembly, in the name of the people of 
the Philippines pray, as it hereby prays, the chief executive thereof to kindly 
forward to the President of the United States the following message in reply: 

“ We, the representatives of the Filipino people, constituting the Philippine 
Assembly, do solemnly declare: 

“ That the right of the Filipino people to be free and independent is evi¬ 
dent to us, so that pursuing the line of progress for themselves, theirs is the 
responsibility to labor for their prosperity in all lines and direct their own 
destinies. This was the aspiration of the people in entering into the contest 
with Spain, and the presence of the American flag in Manila Bay first, and 
later in the interior of the archipelago, did not modify, but rather it affirmed 
that aspiration, in spite of reverses in war and difficulties in peace. The 
people when called upon to deposit their ballots, ratified once for all this 
aspiration, and the national representation since the inauguration of the as¬ 
sembly has but acted in harmony with the popular will. So, in the midst of 
the most adverse conditions, the ideal of the people has not faltered, and it 
is so stated respectfully and frankly on this occasion to the authorities of 
the United States. 

“ On the other hand, our faith in the justice of the American people has 
been as great and as persistent as our ideal. We have waited patiently, con¬ 
fident that sooner or later mistakes and injustice would be corrected'. The 
message of the President of the United States to the Filipino people tells 
eloquently that we have not waited in vain. 

“ We accept this message with love and gratitude, and we consider it a 
definite statement of the purpose of the American Nation to recognize the 
independence of the islands. The immediate step to concede us a majority on 
the commission puts into our hands the instruments of power and of responsi- 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


135 


bility for the institution by ourselves of a stable Philippine government. We 
fully recognize and we are grateful from the bottom of our hearts for the 
confidence placed in us by the Government of the United States. We appreciate 
the appointment of the Hon. Francis Burton Harrison as governor general, 
considering it the unequivocal announcement of the new era, wherein we expect 
that tlie attitude of the people he one of decided cooperation and support. 
We believe that the experiments of imperialism have ended, and that the 
policy of colonial exploitation has passed into history. The time for suspicions 
has passed, and upon the opening of the doors of opportunity to Filipinos the 
weight of responsibility is made to rest upon them, which it were inexcusable 
cowardice to evade or refuse. Hence in a few days, good understanding has 
been arrived at between Americans and Filipinos, which in the past 13 years 
could not take root. We are convinced that each step taken, while relieving 
the American Government of its responsibilities in the islands, will fully 
demonstrate, as in the past, the actual ability of the Filipino people to estab¬ 
lish self-government, and under such government guarantee permanently the 
life, the property, and the liberty of the residents of the islands, whether native 
or foreign. We do not mean by this that there will be no difficulties or hin¬ 
drances. We do not even hope that the campaign, open or secret, of the 
enemies of the Philippine cause will quickly end, but we feel sure that through 
the use of the faculties entrusted to us, the Filipino people, by the grace of 
God and the help of America, will proudly emerge from the test, however 
difficult it be, and 

“ Resolved further , That a committee of seven be appointed by the speaker 
of the Assembly to go to the office of the governor general and deliver to him 
this resolution duly certified.” 

At the last meeting of the session ending February 28, 1914, Speaker Osmena 
submitted, before closing his speech, the following declaration which was 
unanimously adopted: 

“ We, the representatives of the Filipino people, constituting the Philippine 
assembly, solemnly make the following declaration: 

“ In ratifying, as we do hereby ratify, the national aspiration to independence, 
so often expressed by this assembly in previous sessions, especially in that of 
the 3d of February, 1911, we ratify our faith in the immortal principles of the 
Declaration of Independence made by the American people in 1776. This 
declaration, though written by Jefferson, belongs to humanity and yet holds 
good. Above the egoism of peoples, clothed at times in the dazzling mantle of 
a feigned generosity, and the pride of nations obsessed by the fleeting triumphs 
of an imperialism, ambitious and aggressive, the history of many years tells 
us that the advancement and greatness of a nation may be firmly established 
without abandoning the fundamental principles of self-government, and that 
this doctrine may be preserved with loyalty and love through all changes and 
through the passing of many generations. 

“ We consider the policy of the present President of the United States and 
of his representative in the Philippines, the Governor General, as rightfully 
inspired by the principles of that Declaration. Hence, in contrast to the pre¬ 
vious administration, which, actuated by the idea of colonial expansion, could 
find but vague and indecisive words in tracing its line of conduct in the 
Philippines, the present administration from the first moment found within 
its sphere of action categoric and definite declarations as to what, in its judg¬ 
ment. should be the future of a Christian people of 8,000,000, placed merely 
by the chances of war in the hands of the United States. 

“ These forceful declarations were made despite the persistent and apparently 
organized efforts principally of those, who being responsible for having estab¬ 
lished a government by force yesterday, are attempting now, under the specious 
pretext of subserving the interest of the Filipino, to keep the people of the 
United States by every possible means from doing justice to the Filipinos. The 
President of the United States, as leader of the party in power, and as the 
exponent of the ideas of its people in vogue now, has already started to rectify 
erroneous theories in respect to the Philippines, exemplified in 15 years of 
imperialistic administration. It is now within the constitutional authority of 
Congress to definitely decide the insistent demands submitted to it, with hoimr 
for the Americans and with justice for the Filipinos. Besides the basic prin¬ 
ciples of government established since remote ages, after the long sufferings 
and weariness borne by those who, like us, were oppressed and sought liberty, 
Congress has the good fortune to possess another specific rule, and ultimately 
solemnly adopted in three national conventions and one which, after ratifica¬ 
tion in Baltimore, won the campaign that culminated in the election of the 


136 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


present majority in Congress. We earnestly and respectfully urge the early 
adoption by Congress of those legislative measures that in its wisdom it believes 
should be adopted to make the promises of independence to the Philippines 
immediately effective. 

“ Respecting ourselves, the Filipinos, we regard the early adoption of such 
legislation essential to our life as a people. Not only because we are con¬ 
tending with strong adversaries many miles away, far from our soil and our 
environment, and that we are destitute of the power of the ballot, but because 
it is fundamental for the permanent effectiveness of our efforts in behalf 
of the progress and welfare of our people that we have in our hands the 
guarantees of our future. In insisting on the immediate control of our affairs, 
we are not actuated by the single desire to burden ourselves with the heavy 
weight of new responsibilities, but because we wish right now to establish the 
permanent bases of our political nationality, and, step by step, with confidence 
and assurance, to move forward, so that without unnecessary and sudden 
changes we may build with our own hands, piece by piece, and following the 
pattern which popular conscience advises us to be the best, the governmental 
structure, having as its main duty the promotion of happiness, the preserva¬ 
tion of peace, and the protection of life and property, of the natives and of the 
foreigners of good will who may live and settle in our Philippine territory.” 

On February 36, 1915, the Philippine commission and the Philippine assembly 
approved the following resolutions: 

“Resolved by the Philippine commission and the Philippine assembly in joint 
session assembled, in the Marble Hall of the Ayuntamiento Building in Manila: 
That the governor general be and he is hereby, requested to send the following 
message from the Philippine legislature to the President of the United States: 

“ ‘ We express our deep gratitude for the unwavering interest shown by the 
President in behalf of the people of the Philippine Islands. This reiteration 
of intention to support the Filipino people in their petition for an independent 
government shows the sincerity and perseverance with which the Administra¬ 
tion proposes to carry out the plan for the independence of the Philippines, 
and that this intention is the same as that communicated to the people of the 
Philippine Islands in so solemn a manner on the 6th of October, 3913, and 
afterward ratified by the President in his subsequent messages to Congress. 

“ ‘ For our part, we again reiterate, in the name of the Filinipo people, the 
national desire and purpose set forth on many former occasions. We have 
already made such substantial progress in local government that it has been 
deemed wise and desirable to give to the people the practical management of 
their affairs, both municipal and provincial. The result of the reform ex¬ 
tending popular control in provincial government has demonstrated that the 
hopes of success of those responsible for this measure, adopted because of full 
confidence in the capacity of the people, has justified the action. The confidence 
of the Government of the United States has been also fully justified by the 
result of extending Filipino control in the Insular Government. Notwithstand¬ 
ing that the tumult of the world’s greatest war still continues, and that every¬ 
where the effect has been felt in financial and economic crises, yet in suite 
of the limited resources of our government and the continuing limitations of 
our commerce, the government of the Philippine Islands has successfully met 
its every necessary expenditure without resort to additional loans either from 
the United States or foreign governments. • 

“‘But living not alone for the present our foresight goes far beyond, and 
we wish to assure a stable future fof our people. We desire an increase of the 
elements of our national life and progress. We ask yet more, and for that 
reason in reiterating, as we hereby do reiterate, our urgent petitions for liberty 
and independence for the people of the Philippine Islands, we. the elected rep¬ 
resentatives of the Filipino people, express our confidence that the efforts of the 
President of the United States to secure the fulfillment of his promises and the 
realization of our lawful hopes, will obtain early and complete success.’ ” 

On February 4, 1916, the Philippine assembly unanimously approved the 
following political declaration: 

“ It has always been customary with the Philippine assembly at every ses¬ 
sion before adjournment to ratify its faith in the principles of liberty and 
independence of the Filipino people; not because such principles need be re¬ 
peated each time in order to find a firm lodgment in the heart of the popular 
chamber; no, but to demonstrate to the world that neither time nor circum¬ 
stances, often disheartening, has succeeded in diverting the representatives of 
the people from the line of conduct mapped out since the beginning of their 
public life. During that period of our struggle against dominant imperialism 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


137 


we felt it our duty to face the fact, and, despite the precarious situation and 
the timidity of a few people, frankly to state to our sovereign, the American 
people, the sole ambition of our existence. And so we did. At the dawn of a 
new era for the Philippines those sacred principles which heretofore were 
abhorred by some, now find the doors of hope opened, so that all, without any 
-exception, may freely enter and receive a hearty welcome. 

“The news coming from the Senate of the United States would indicate that 
the final hour has struck. In the acts of the insular administration here as 
well as in those of the United States Government, the most sincere inten¬ 
tions to do us full justice are apparent. For this reason the Philippine 
assembly, the depository of popular aspirations, can not but see with satisfac¬ 
tion that its long and perservering efforts, and its insistent and fervid de¬ 
mands are upon the point of being crystallized into material and tangible form. 
On the eve of such transcendent events, after the uncertainty and struggles 
of the past, and in the midst of our hopes for speedy emancipation, we the 
representatives assembled turn our eyes now to the Capitol of the United 
States and once more await with persistence and faith the enactment of the 
pending measure. The tenacity, efforts, activities, and sacrifices shown by 
our Resident Commissioners have been no small factor in the struggle now 
about to effect this happy consummation. They have been and are the guiding 
spirits of this great campaign. We applaud their splendid and patriotic 
work, and we recognize that no one could have done within so short a time what 
they have done in behalf of this country. We expect that as members of the 
House of Representatives they will lose no opportunity to move the patroitism 
of the American people and appeal to the sentiments of humanity and justice 
of their representatives. Our fervent desire is that the longed-for measure 
be not delayed in its passage. We Filipinos earnestly desire it. Once again we 
are one in this plea, as we were one in the Revolution. We feel confident that 
Divine Justice will grant us in peace what it could not grant us in time of war.” 

On October 16, 1917, the same Philippine Legislature approved another 
joint resolution which says: 

“Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philip¬ 
pines, in joint session assembled in the Marble Hall of the Ayuntamiento, That 
the governor general be and hereby is requested to send the following message 
to the President of the United States: 

“ ‘ The Philippine Legislature deems it a duty incumbent upon it to voice the 
unequivocal expressions of the loyalty of the people of these Islands to the 
cause of the United States of America in the present war and in this solemn 
manner to ratify and transmit the same to the American people. We realize 
that in this war there are being tried in the balance the greatest principles 
of humanity and right which in future will be the foundation of the stability, 
peace, and security of all nations, whether they be great or small or belong 
to one race or another. 

“ ‘ Our loyalty to the cause is based on the evident justice of the enforced 
Intervention of the American people in this war, in which they have been 
guided solely by the supreme interest of defending universal democracy and up¬ 
holding the right of small nations to live in confidence and security under their 
own governments, safe from the threats and perils of autocracy anil imperialism. 

“ ‘ We firmly believe that the final triumph of democracy, in securing for the 
world the principle of nationality for the benefit of the small nations, will, 
finally, enable our people to attain the ideals for which we have always strug¬ 
gled, namely, our constitution into a free and independent nation, with a 
-democratic government of law and order, ready to be another instrument of 
democracy and universal progress.’” . 

On November 20, 1918, upon receipt of official notification of the signing of 
the armistice, the Philippine Legislature approved the following message to the 
President of the United States: 

“ Whereas the chief executive has just informed the legislature that it may 
take official cognizance of the termination of hostilities in Europe under the 
terms of the armistice laid down by the United States and her associated gov¬ 
ernments; and 

“ Whereas said terms of the armistice are such as to insure the advent of 
j>eace; now, therefore, 

“ Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philip¬ 
pines, assembled in joint session in the Marble Hall of the Ayuntamiento: 

“ That a message of the most heartfelt congratulations be sent to the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States for the brilliant success obtained by the United States 
in the terrible war just ended, together with the expressions of the confident 


138 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


expectation of the Filipino people that this victory of power shall be con¬ 
verted into the victory of right, by the glorious realization of the great ideals 
of humanity, justice, and liberty and self-government enunciated and reiter¬ 
ated by President Wilson: 

“ Be it further resolved, that this body express, and does hereby express, the- 
gratitude of the Filipino people to the United States for the part they were 
allowed to take in the most far-reaching enterprise ever undertaken by democ¬ 
racy, the first part of which, fought in the field of arms, has successfully ended r 
“ Be it finally resolved, That the Filipino people, which have unqualifiedly 
sided with the United States when the war was thrust upon her, hereby renew 
their adherence to the noble purposes sought in this war, and they place them¬ 
selves again, as heretofore, at the pleasure of the American people, ready to- 
contribute their modest but cordial and determined service in the forthcoming- 
task of reconstruction and peace. The Filipino people believe that Providence, 
in choosing the American people as the leaders in this stupendous and immortal 
enterprise, has ordained in His high designs that through the complete develop¬ 
ment and application to all peoples of the principles which have given birth to 
the United States, the fruit of victory, gained at the cost of untold sacrifices, 
shall not have come to naught. That the world be made safe for democracy; 
that the rights and liberties of the small nations be forever secured and guaran¬ 
teed ; that the people desiring to be free be liberated and allowed to establish, 
without fear or hindrance, a government of their own choosing and change it at 
will when so demanded by their best interests; that the weak be not at the- 
mercy of the strong, and that the spirit of selfishness and domination be 
destroyed and established in its place amongst all free men of the world a 
new kingdom of constructive and equal justice based upon foundations that will 
make it universal, secure, and permanent. And when all these things shall 
have been accomplished, the universal belief shall have been confirmed, that the 
war which has happily ended has been fought in the interest of free humanity 
and the everlasting peace of the world.” 

In each and every one of these documents the sentiment of the Filipinos for 
their independence, a living sentiment, Constant and ever growing, is reflected. 
Neither the years that have passed nor the benefits received from the American; 
Government have in any manner changed this sentiment. The Filipinos to-day, 
more than ever, believe that the time has come when the political relations 
between the two countries should be settled and adjusted with a view to a final 
solution. It is for this reason that the legislature enacted a law creating a 
committee on independence, charged with the duty of studying the means of 
and taking the necessary steps for negotiating with the Government of the 
United States the terms of the independence of the Philippines. This com¬ 
mittee has deemed it necessary to send to the United States a special mission, 
which is not a political body. The economic interests of the country predom¬ 
inate in it. Out of the 26 full-fledged members 14 have no official connections. 
Four officially represent agricultural interests; two represent industrial inter¬ 
ests ; four represent commercial interests; one represents the Catholics of the 
country; one represents the laborers; one, formerly a resident commissioner in 
Washington, is now a business man; and one represents the medical profession. 
These 14 men have official representation of the economic forces of the country, 
and they are all for the immediate independence of the Philippines. 

Nothing could better explain the present attitude of the Filipinos and their 
determination to obtain their independence from the Government and people 
of the United States than the documents hereto appended, where the Legisla¬ 
ture defines the powers of the Philippine Mission and states its duties. (See 
Appendices “A” and “B.”) • 

Respectfully submitted. 

Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Philippine Senate, chairman ; 
Rafael Palma, secretary of the interior and senator, 4th dis¬ 
trict (Manila), vice chairman; Dionisio .Takosalem, secretary of 
commerce and communications, member; Pedro M. Sison, senator, 
2d district (Pangasinan), member; V. Singson Encarnacion, 
senator, 1st district (Ilocos), member; Rafael Alunan, repre¬ 
sentative (Occidental Negros), majority floor leader, member; 
Emiliano Tria Tirona, representative (Cavite), minority floor 
leader, member; Gregorio Nieva, representative (Tayabas), 
member; Mariano Escueta, representative (Bulacan), member; 
Manuel Escudero, representative (Sorsogon), member; Pedro 
Aunario, representative (Mountain Province), member; Pablo 
Ocampo, former resident commissioner from the Philippines to 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


139 


tlie United States (1907-1909), member; Filemon Perez, former 
representative (Tayabas), representing agricultural interests, 
member; Jose Keyes, former governor of Misamis, representing 
agricultural interests; member; Deliin Mahinay, former repre¬ 
sentative (Occidental Negros), representing agricultural inter¬ 
ests, member; Ceferino De Leon, former representative (Bula- 
can), representing agricultural interests, member; Jorge Bocobo, 
dean, College of Law, University of the Philippines, member; 
Tomas Earnshaw, representing industrial interests, member; 
Pedro Gil, representing industrial interests, member; Mauro 
Prieto, representing commercial interests, member; Juan B. 
Alegre, representing commercial interests, member; Carlos Cuyu- 
gan, representing commercial interests, member; Marcos Roces, 
representing commercial interests, member; Gregorio Singian, 
physician and surgeon, member; Gabriel La O, lawyer, member; 
Crisanto Evangelista, labor representative, member; Jaime C. 
De Veyra, resident commissioner from the Philippines in the 
United States, member ex-officio; Teodoro R. Yangco, resident 
commissioner from the Philippines in the United States, member 
ex-officio; Quintin Paredes, attorney general of the Philippine 
islands, technical adviser; Conrado Benitez, dean, College of 
Liberal Arts, University of the Philippines, technical adviser; 
Enrique Altavas, chief of land registration office, technical ad¬ 
viser; Camilo Osias, assistant director of education, technical 
adviser; Jose A. Santos, assistant attorney-general, technical 
adviser; Jorge B. Vargas, major, Philippine National Guard, 
aid ; Arsenio N. Lutz, editor, “ El Ideal; ” Francisco Varona, 
associate editor, “El Debate;” Maximo M. Kalaw, assistant 
professor, University of the Philippines, secretary. 

Appendix B. 

FOURTH PHILIPPINE LEGISLATURE, SPECIAL SESSION OF 1919. 

[Resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines, in joint ses¬ 
sion assembled, adopting a declaration of purposes for the guidance of the commission 
of independence.] 

Whereas the commission of independence has informed the Philippine Legis¬ 
lature that it is ready to receive from it instructions or declarations for its 
future guidance, in order to insure the best possible performance of the duties 
of the commission: Now, therefore, 

Be it resolved by the senate and house of representatives of the Philippines, 
in joint session assembled in the Marble Hall of the Ayuntamiento, that the fol¬ 
lowing declaration of purposes be, and in the same hereby is, adapted, to wit: 

DECLARATION OF PURPOSES. 

The Philippine question has reached such a stage that a full and final ex¬ 
change of views between the United States of America and the Philippine 
Islands has become necessary. We need not repeat the declarations respecting 
the national aspirations of the Filipino people. Such declarations have been 
made from time to time in the most frank and solemn manner by the constitu¬ 
tional representatives of the Philippine nation and are a matter of permanent 
record in public documents covering more than a decade of persistent efforts 
particularly during the last three years. America, on her part, has been suf¬ 
ficiently explicit in her purposes from the beginning of her occupation of the 
Philippines. It is true that the treaty of Paris, whereby the sovereignty for¬ 
merly exercised by Spain passed to the United States, was negotiated and con¬ 
cluded without the intervention or consent of the Filipinos, and that the United 
States of America did not occupy the Philippine Archipelago upon a previous 
categorical declaration like that formulated and made public before the occu¬ 
pation of Cuba. But, aside from certain differences in the details of both oc¬ 
cupations which, not having been foreseen upon the declaration of war between 
the United States and Spain, subsequently gave rise to debate and differences 
of opinion regarding procedure, it is an incontrovertible fact that the definite 
purpose of the United States in both cases was the same; the disinterested 

liberation of the peoples subjugated by Spain. 

The American flag that waved over Cuba for lofty reasons of humanity and 
justice scrupulously observed and respected after the victory is the same flag 
which, when the war spread to this part of the globe, extended its protecting 
folds over another people anxious for justice and liberty. And that Ameiican 


140 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


flag could not stand for emancipation in Cuba and, at the sime time, for forcible 
subjugation in the Philippines. The difference, if such ever existed, consisted 
only in matters of detail, not in the affirmation and observance of the cardinal 
principles. In one case, owing to the proximity of Cuba to the American shores, 
the terms of the problem were known at the outset and provisions had been 
made for its solution. In the other, the lack of adequate information in the 
United States as to the true conditions of the Philippine problem, aggravated 
by long distance, momentarily obscured the question and naturally gave rise to 
a less determined and speedy procedure. Thus, ‘while Cuba became free and 
independent after scarcely four years of American occupation, the Philippines, 
which professed the same ideals as their sister of the Antilles, continue in a 
state of dependency after more than twenty years of such occupation. 

In submitting the Philippine question to the Government and people of the 
United States, the commission of independence will find it unnecessary to refer 
to the natural acerbity of the situation, or to the anxiety of our people which 
tw r o decades of occupation have only served to accentuate. The steadfastness 
of our position is not due to mere sentiment, but to the justice of our cause, 
sanctified by the laws of God and nature not only, but admitted in the promises 
solemnly made by the United States and accepted by the Philippines. Al¬ 
though attention should respectively be invited to the fact that he Filipino 
people have never renounced their independence, not even in the moments of 
the greatest adversity brought about by the enforced or voluntary submission of 
their own leaders, yet the commission of independence in dwelling upon the 
promises made will unreservedly and with the deepest gratitude recognize that 
they were made freely and generously to a small and powerless people after 
they had suffered defeat in the field of battle. The deliberate attitude of our 
country in reposing confidence in those promises and laboring peacefully in 
pursuance thereof, must also be asserted. Thus, after the rupture of relations 
occasioned by three years of w T ar during which the right of the Filipinos to 
their independence was disputed, unsucessfully so far as they were concerned, 
violence gave way to harmony, and hostility to cooperation; and thanks to the 
growing influence of the new conditions of peace, Americans and Filipinos, who 
a short time ago fought each other and stained the Philippine soil with blood, 
undertook jointly together, on the basis of a friendly undertaking, a magnifi¬ 
cent labor which has been carried on with the orderly progress of iberty and 
self-government. 

The commission must not lose sight of the fact that the altruistic ideals 
and the wise and efficient aid of America in peace justly won for her our 
confidence and gratitude. Far from allowing a policy of selfish exploitation 
to direct the destinies of these islands, America proclaimed and insisted that 
the interest and welfare of the Philippines were to be considered a sacred 
trust confided to the people of the United States. Instead of the national 
spirit being stifled, it was announced from the outset that the natural develop¬ 
ment of self-government would be promoted. The total surrender of the gov¬ 
ernment of the municipalities to popular control, the constant increase in the 
measure of self-government in the administration of the Provinces, and the 
growing participation of the people in the management of the central govern¬ 
ment and of national affairs; the plan of a general free elementary education 
conceived from the start; the establishment of the national assembly, with the 
subsequent addition of an elective senate, and, finally, the acceptance of the 
offers of adhesion and aid of the Philippines to the cause of America in the 
recent w T ar, based on the principles of justice and self-government, liberty, and 
security for small nations, as proclaimed by the Government of the United 
States, are fundamental facts of the policy of America in these islands which 
have appealed to the heart and brightened the hopes of the Filipino people. 
President Roosevelt, proudly contemplating, rather than the initial results of 
the work, the loftiness, and purity of the principles enunciated, said with good 
reason that “ no great civilized powder has ever handled with such wisdom and 
disinterestedness the affairs of a people committed by the accident of war to 
its hands.” “ Save only our attitude toward Cuba,” Mr. Roosevelt continued, 
“ I question whether there is a brighter page in the annals of international 
dealing between the strong and the weak than the page which tells of our 
doings in the Philippines” (Jan. 27, 1908), and subsequently he proclaimed, 
in a message to Congress, that “the Filipino people, through their officials, 
are therefore making real steps in the direction of self-government ” and that 
he hoped and trusted that these steps would mark “ the beginning of a course 
which will continue till the Filipinos become fit to decide for themselves 
whether tiny desire to be an independent nation.” (Dec. 8, 1908.) 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


141 


In the opinion of William H. Taft, who implanted our civil regime, the 
national policy with regard to the Philippines contemplated a gradual and 
constant extension of popular control, and, making a logical deduction, he said, 
“ when the Filipino people, as a whole, show themselves reasonably tit to 
conduct a popular self-government, maintaining law and order and offering 
equal protection of the laws and civil rights to rich and poor, and desire com¬ 
plete independence of the United States, they shall be given it.” (Jan. 23, 
190S.) These statements of Mr. Taft, made while he was Secretary of War, 
were confirmed by him when, as President of the United States, he said in a 
message to Congress: “ We should endeavor to secure for the Filipinos economic 
independence and to fit them for complete self-government, with the power to 
decide eventually, according to their own largest good, whether such self- 
government shall be accompanied by independence.” (Dec. G, 1912.) 

On March 4, 1913, there was a change in the administration of the United 
States and the power passed from the Republicans to the Democrats. Seven 
months later, Francis Burton Harrison, the new governor general, communi¬ 
cated to the Filipino people the following message from President Wilson: 
*• We regard ourselves as trustees acting not for the advantage of the United 
States, but for the benefit of the people of the Philippine Islands. Every step 
we take will be taken with a view to the ultimate independence of the islands 
and as a preparation for that independence. And we hope to move toward that 
end as rapidly as the safety and the permanent interests of the islands will 
permit. After each step taken, experiences will guide us to the next” (Oct. 
G, 1913). On the occasion of the change in the Philippine Commission, which 
acted as the upper house of the legislature, the Filipinos were given an effective 
majority in both houses, and in accordance with the new policy that in the 
administration of affairs in the Philippines America desired not her own 
counsel, but the counsel of the Filipinos, the Filipinization of the service was 
accelerated and other administrative measures were adopted to extend the 
popular control in the government. Finally, maintaining all the progress 
made and emphasizing the steps toward independence, frankly announced by 
President Wilson, the Congress of the United States approved the new organic 
law for the Philippines of August 29, 1916, which formally promises the 
Filipinos their independence and grants them a more autonomous government. 
Thus the burden of the international responsibilities assumed by the United 
States by virtue of the treaty of Paris passed in effect to the hands of the 
Filipino people, and a pact was virtually consummated between America and 
the Philippines, analogous to that established between America and Cuba by 
the passage of the Teller resolution which led to the war between America and 
Spain and publicly defined America’s purpose at that time. 

During this period of confident waiting, when our attitude was one of mere 
cooperation as well as when we assumed the new powers conferred by the 
Jones law, the Commission of Independence will find, throughout the entire 
record of over 20 years, positive facts demonstrating our full capacity for 
national independence and self-government. In the plan of a general free 
education and of sanitary improvements; in the vast public works program 
with respect to roads ad bridges, public buildings, and irrigation systems; in 
the fostering of agriculture, industry, and commerce, including the provision 
of banking facilities, port improvements, and an adequate system of transpor¬ 
tation by land and sea ; in the establishment of an efficient civil service and 
an independent judiciary; in the constant developmet of self-government in 
the local organizations and the central government, and in the adoption of 
measures for the free and orderly exercise of the popular suffrage; in the 
exercise, in fine, of all the political powers entrusted to us, no effect has been 
spared to promote the public good. Any unprejudiced critic will find after 
an impartial examination that we have successfully created a condition which 
demonstrates that the Filipino people, in managing their own affairs, can 
maintain law and order, and afford equal protection to all, whether foieigneis 

or nationals. , ^ ...... 

Despite the party struggles that precede the elections, particularly those 

that attended the first general election held on the occasion of the inauguration 
of the Philippine Assembly, the work of that body and that of the present 
purely elective legislature which succeeded it show that there exists in these 
islands a strong and complete national unity which places general interests 
above petty local partisanships. In our budget system successfully implanted 
since both houses became elective, no costly extravagance, local selfishness or 
« i off rolling ” and “ pork barrel ” practices find any place. Our financial sys¬ 
tem and the appearance of cabinet members before the houses of the legislature 


142 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


have effected a coordination of forces and leadership which has promoted the 
efficiency of the administration and assured its responsibility to the people. 
The stability of the present government, managed almost entirely by Filipinos, 
has been put to a test not only by the extension of its authority to all the 
remote districts of the islands inhabited by Mohammedans and other non- 
Christian Filipinos, where, as in the rest of the country, there now reigns 
perfect order maintained by civil officers, but also by the uninterrupted main¬ 
tenance of a complete state of peace, order, and security during the recent 
war which devastated the fields of Europe and sowed the seed of restlessness 
and discontent throughout the world. 

As an evidence of the appreciation of the high purposes and disinterested work 
of the Americans who have aided the Filipinos, all useful public institutions 
in existence at the inauguration of the Philippine assembly in 1907 have been 
preserved and perfected. Notwithstanding the policy of Filipinization im¬ 
planted by President McKinley, no American employee in sympathy with this 
country and with the common work carried on has been retired from the 
service against his will and without an equitable compensation. It must be a 
source of legitimate pride and satisfaction to every American to know that 
the noble and humanitarian purposes expressed by President McKinley and his 
successors in their instructions, messages, and other official documents as the 
reason for American occupation has been successfully attained by the united 
and harmonious effort of Americans and Filipinos. 

Now, in applying the principles enunciated in documents and utterances on 
the Philippines to the conditions now existing in the islands, the independence 
mission will find the following facts: 

That there exist at present in the Philippine Islands the conditions of order 
and government which America has for nearly a century and a half required 
in all cases in which she has recognized the independence of a country or the 
establishment of a new government. 

That there exist likewise in the Philippines all the conditions of stability 
and guarantees for law and order that Cuba had to establish to the satisfac¬ 
tion of America in order to obtain her independence, or to preserve it, during 
the military occupation of 1S98-1902 and during the intervention of 1906- 
1909, respectively. 

That the “ preparation for independence ” and the “ stable government ” 
required by President Wilson and the Congress of the United States, respec¬ 
tively, contain no new requisite not included in any of the cases above cited. 

That these prerequisites for Philippine independence are the same as those 
virtually or expressly established by the Republican administrations that 
preceded President Wilson’s administration. 

That during the entire time that the Filipino people have been with America, 
they have been living in the confidence that the American occupation was only 
temporary and that its final aim was not aggrandizement or conquest, but the 
peace, welfare, and liberty of the Filipino people. 

That this faith in the promises of America was a cardinal factor not only 
in the cooperation between Americans and Filipinos during the years of peace, 
but also in the cooperation between Americans and Filipinos during the late war. 

That the condition of thorough development of the internal affairs of the 
country and the present international atmosphere of justice, liberty, and se¬ 
curity for all peoples are the most auspicious for the fulfillment by America 
of her promises and for her redemption of the pledges she has made before the 
world. 

In the light of these facts and considerations, the Filipino people are confi¬ 
dent that it will be possible to arrive at a satisfactory final decision, as we 
deal no longer with a disputed question, but are merely endeavoring to agree 
upon the final adjustment of a matter with regard to which, according to 
President Wilson’s words, there exists, so far as fundamentals are concerned, 
“ a perfect harmony of ideals and feelings ” between the Governments of the 
United States and of the Philippine Islands, which harmony has brought about 
“ that real friendship and mutual support which is the foundation of all sound 
political policy” (Nov. 29, 1918). 

Therefore, so far as it is humanly possible to judge and Say, we can see only 
one aim for the commission of independence: Independence; and we can give 
only one instruction: To get it. Thus America, in adding another glory to her 
banner by establishing the first really democratic republic in the East will 
apply a second time, generously and freely, the same measure of humanity 
and justice that she applied in the case of Cuba, which is but a logical and 
natural sequence of the immortal principles of rwio ration of Independ- 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


143 


ence. This declaration, which belongs to all humanity, has now as much force 
ns it had in the days when America proclaimed it. America will thus vindicate 
the memory of President McKinley, to whom the “ forcible annexation ” of 
peoples meant “criminal aggression,” and who, upon taking over the Philip¬ 
pines “ for high duty in the interest of their inhabitants and for humanity and 
civilization,” solemnly said: “Our sacrifices were with this high motive. We 
want to improve the condition of the inhabitants, securing them peace, liberty, 
and the pursuit of their highest good.” 

Thus, finally, America will carry out the efforts and assurances of President 
Wilson when, upon the signing of the armistice, he said to the Filipinos: “I 
hope and belieA'e that the future holds brighter hope for the states which 
have heretofore been the prey of great powers and will realize for all the 
world the offers of justice and peace which have prompted the magnificent 
cooperation of the present war” (Nov. 29, 1918). 

The Filipinos will thus have a better opportunity to demonstrate how deeply 
rooted is their gratitude for America when, after her voluntary withdrawal 
from these islands, we preserve here the immortal spirit of her democratic 
institutions and associate with her in her future enterprises of justice and 
peace, in carrying to the darkest corners of the earth the quickening flame of 
justice, democracy, and liberty. 

Appendix C. 

INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION OF INDEPENDENCE TO THE PHILIPPINE MISSION. 

By authority of the Philippine Legislature and acting under its instructions, 
the commission of independence has resolved that the following statement be 
-sent to the Philippine mission: 

The Philippine mission will please convey to the Government of the United 
States the frankest assurances of the good will, friendship, and gratitude of 
the Filipino people and submit with as much respect as confidence the question 
of Philippine independence with a view to its final settlement. The attention 
of the Government of the United States is respectfully invited to the summary 
of facts and propositions considered in the declaration of purposes approved by 
the Philippine Legislature on March 8, 1919. 

It is singularly fortunate for the Philippine nation that there seems to be 
no controversy concerning either the pertinent principles or the capital facts 
of the matter. The Filipinos venture to believe that all that is necessary is a 
frank exchange of views in order to arrive in a prompt and satisfactory manner 
at a definite adjustment of details which will result in the complete and final 
■executive of the plans outlined, in accordance with the principles already 
-established and agreed upon. 

It is well known that these principles are so old that many of them, and one 
may even say all of them, already found faithful expression in the immortal 
■days of 1776 when in the New World a people smaller and with less resources 
than the Filipino people entered upon the fearless undertaking of establishing 
a new government founded upon the proposition that its just powers were de¬ 
rived not from the will of monarchs, but from the consent of the governed. It 
was not the first time that a people threw off the yoke of a foreign government; 
hut it was the first case in which a people dissatisfied with the political bonds 
which had connected them with their former sovereign, invoking the laws of 
God and of nature, established the principles of liberty and justice not only for 
themselves but also for the other subject peoples of the world. 

Having lived for over two decades side by side with the people of the United 
States, the Filipino people have become convinced that those principles are now 
as real and powerful as in the days when they were enunciated. Although 
it has not been possible to avoid certain isolated expressions made in apparent 
violation of those principles, yet it can not be denied that the only authorized 
declarations regarding the American policy in these islands have been specific 
and definite, and having been reiterated from time to time have led the Filipino 
people to believe, as they have with good reason believed, that the purposes of 
America were not of domination or self-aggrandizement, but of altruism, hu¬ 
manity, and liberty. 

On the basis of this understanding, the attitude of the Filipinos has been 
one of confident waiting. Busily engaged in the reconstruction that necessarily 
followed the war as well as in the reaffirmation of their personality, the Fili¬ 
pino people have successfully exercised the political powers conferred upon 
them, first giving their loyal and peaceful cooperation and subsequently assum¬ 
ing an almost complete control of their internal affairs. Their national record 
of over 20 years from the first day of American occupation until the present is 



144 


PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE. 


an open book and is now unhesitatingly submitted to the examination and 
criticism of the world. 

Moreover, the triumph of democracy in the moral and political evolution of 
human institutions through the recent war has infused new life into the 
principles enunciated in 1776, and in fact has confirmed and ratified the 
promises of 1916. The Filipino people, seeing their own cause involved in the 
cause of the United States in that war, gave their support to the same. They 
not only placed all their modest energies and resources at the service of 
America, but in the spirit of a real and active community of ideals and interests 
they resolutely assumed the international responsibilities of that country in 
the Philippines. It will not be amiss to say now that during all that time 
of commotion and restlessness the public order was maintained here as per¬ 
fectly as in the preceding years, and the American flag continued to float un¬ 
disturbed not because it was supported by a military force of which there was 
hardly any, but because of the loyal and vigilant allegiance of the Filipinos. 

Now that the war is over and the world engaged in the application of the 
principles that have come out triumphant; now that the Filipino people have 
met the tests to which their capacity has been submitted. Can it be deemed in¬ 
opportune or ill-advised for them to submit the pending question to the United 
States, or to any other competent tribunal of the world for its final adjust¬ 
ment? The problem being so varied in its aspects, the Filipino people will 
welcome an opportunity to discuss the terms of the concession of independence 
and the scope of the covenants necessary for the guaranty, safety, and stability 
of the new State and for the establishment and maintenance of such external 
relations, especially with America, as may be equitable and beneficial and as the 
circumstances may demand. In this respect they are guided by the spirit of the 
steps previously taken with the Government of the United States, especially by 
reason of the mutual understanding and benefit that were taken into account 
when the independence bill of 1914 was drafted. Inasmuch as the situation of 
the international affairs has been altered by the irresistible force of the prin¬ 
ciples consecrated by the recent war, it is evident that the plan contained 
in that bill can not be carried into effect without certain suitable revisions. 
One of them is that, inasmuch as the Filipino people believe in the efficacy of 
a general concert of responsible powers established for the common cause of 
justice and the preservation of the peace of the world, they would be ready 
to agree to any arrangement by which the Philippines would be enabled to 
participate in the concert as soon as possible. 

The Filipino people would not be just to themselves if, at this moment when 
their political separation from the sovereign country is being urged, they should 
fail to express in the clearest and most definite manner the sentiments and 
purposes that inspire their action. They therefore deem it their duty to affirm: 
That independence, instead of destroying or weakening, will strengthen the 
bonds of friendship and appreciation arising from the gratitude of the Filipino 
people, not only for the final measure of complete justice and humanity that 
they confidently expect, but for all the previous disinterested work so splen¬ 
didly performed for the benefit of the Philippines by so many faithful sons 
and daughters of America ; that this gratitude will be the fundamental factor 
in the future relations between the United States and the Philippine Islands; 
that in the present state of the international affairs the Filipino people merely 
aspire to become another conscious and direct instrument for the progress of 
liberty and civilization; that in the tranquil course of their years of consti¬ 
tutional development they will maintain for all people inhabiting their hospit¬ 
able land the essence and benefit of democratic institutions; that they will 
continue to associate, in so for as this will be acceptable and their strength 
will permit, in the work of reconstruction, justice, and peace carried on by 
the United States in continuation of those other undertakings, the high pur¬ 
pose of which was the cause, according to President Wilson “of the magnifi¬ 
cent cooperation during the war” between the American and Filipino peoples; 
and, finally, that in thus preserving their best traditions and institutions in the 
new situation which will strengthen and perfect them, the Filipino people will 
continue to make this country, as heretofore, a place of law and order, justice,, 
and liberty, where Americans and foreigners as well as nationals may live- 
peacefully in the pursuit of happiness and prosperity and safe in the enjoy¬ 
ment of their property as well as of their rights and their liberty. 


X 


Sergio Osmena, 

Speaker House of Representatives. 
Espiridion Guanco, 
Acting President Philippine Senate. 






















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































